Still Worth Fighting For
by GSR4ever87
Summary: A new baby is welcomed in the family, love is still in the air for our couples, and Megan is experiencing her first crush, so everything is going well for them all. But find out what happens when someone from their past is looking to finish what they started. How will it end? Please read and find out. Sixth in Worth Fighting for Series.
1. A New Family Member

Disclaimer: I don't own the main characters

Summary: A new baby is welcomed in the family, love is still in the air for our couples, and Megan is experiencing her first crush, so everything is going well for them all. But find out what happens when someone from their past is looking to finish what they started. How will it end? Please read and find out. Sixth in Worth Fighting for Series.

AN: Hi everybody, I am back with a new installment to the Worth fighting for Series, and since this is in a series I would suggest you reading it from the beginning, if you haven't, or you'll probably be confused. Enjoy!

Title: Still Worth Fighting For  
Genre: Romance, Family, Hurt/comfort, Drama  
Rating: T  
Spoilers: None  
Time-line: 3 years after last story ended  
Warnings: Implied/Suggestive adult behavior, A few questionable Words  
Main Parings: GSR, Bailey/Sam (BSR)  
Minor Parings: Lindsey/Blake, CatNip (Catherine/Nick)  
Other Characters: The gang's kids, Greg, Warrick, Morgan, OC's  
Series Order: Worth Fighting For, For better or worse, No matter the distance, Still the One, More Worth Fighting For

* * *

Chapter 1: A New Family Member

July 13, 2020

The hospital door opened before Sam and Blake walked into the room and they see Lindsey, who was laying in the hospital bed after giving birth to a baby, then they watch Bailey, who was standing next to the hospital bed, turn around to look at them with the baby, who was wrapped in a white blanket, in her arms, and as Sam and her have eye contact, they think back to how they got here like this.

 _Flashback_

 _1 year earlier_

 _While little Sarah was with her grandparents, Sam and Bailey had just stepped into their apartment after going to a scheduled doctor's appointment, and as Bailey was closing the door she watched her husband sit down on the couch before looking down at his hands with a heavy sigh, she then took a breath as she walked up to him. "We can still try."_

 _They had some very disappointing news today from the doctor; getting pregnant on their own again will be a huge risk to her and/or the baby, so if they wanted a biological child they'll have to do it another way._

 _Sam looked up at her and shook his head immediately. "No Way."_

 _She frowned as she sat down next to him. "But..."_

 _He cuts her off as he placed his hand on hers while he spoke, which was mostly in a pleading tone. "I can't do it, Bailey. I lost you once before, and it nearly killed me, but losing you permanently is just something I can't go through with, so please don't ask me to do this. I know it's your body and your choice." He started to have tears in his eyes as he finished. "And I know how much we wanted more kids, but not this way, the risk is just too great."_

 _Seeing him like this, she nodded with tears in her eyes as she cupped his cheek. "Ok, Sam, we'll figure out another way to have another child."_

 _He sighed in relief as he leaned toward her and placed his forehead to hers before whispering. "Thank you."_

 _She wrapped her arms around his neck as she sighed, then after a few moments of them controlling their emotions, he pulled back while she cleared her throat and asked. "But you still want another biological child, right?"_

 _He gave her a smile before cupping her cheek. "If we can. I want at least one more to have your beautiful eyes and smile. Then if more are in our plans we can go a different route."_

 _Bailey nodded with a smile as she placed her hand on top of his that was on her cheek and took it off, then after a seconds pause, she spoke again. "There are only a few people I trust enough to do this for us."_

 _He nodded with a smirk as he squeezed her hand lightly. "Your mom or Lindsey."_

 _She chuckled with a nod before continuing in a more serious tone. "I would have added your sister, but..."_

 _Sam cuts her off with a nod. "But with the divorce and relocating here, she has enough on her plate at the moment, I understand."_

 _His sister and her husband had ended their 8 year marriage and she wanted to live closer to her brother so she decided to move here._

 _After another short pause, Sam asked. "So, when are you going to ask Lindsey?"_

 _She smirked. "How did you know I was going down that route?"_

 _He gave her a loving smile as he replied. "I think we are in agreement that while your mom would do anything for you, she is older and you wouldn't want to put her through that."_

 _Bailey nodded with a smile. "You are good." Then after she cleared her throat, she asked. "Let's ask her when her and Blake come over for dinner tonight. I would rather get this conversation over with so we know where we are going with this."_

 _"Ok, then I'm right there behind you."_

 _She cupped his cheek and whispered with love. "Thank you."_

 _He shook his head with tears in her eyes as he moved his free hand to her stomach, wishing he could've felt their child in there as he replied. "No, thank you, as much as we both wish this could have happened differently for us, I can't risk losing you, I'm not ready to say goodbye."_

 _She sniffled as she brought him closer to her, and after a sweet kiss on the lips, she pulled him in his arms and hugged him. "I'm not either. I love you, Sam."_

 _He sighed in content as he ran his hand up and down her back. "I love you too, so much."_

* * *

 _Later that Night_

 _Once Lindsey and Blake arrived home, they put their 8 month old son, Blake Nicholas Adams Jr, to bed before heading toward their bedroom, and as he was brushing his teeth, Lindsey stood in the doorway of their bathroom and asked. "What are you thinking? You've been really quiet since we left their place."_

 _He finished brushing his teeth before he looked at her and shook his head. "Well, you have to admit that it is one heck of a favor they are asking you to do."_

 _Lindsey nodded. "It is, I can't deny that."_

 _He sighed as he stood in front of her before looking down at her because of the height difference. "But, you already know what you want to do, don't you? You knew the moment we walked out of their house."_

 _Tears started to come to her eyes as she nodded again. "She's my best friend, and I will do anything for her."_

 _"Even this?"_

 _She moved her hand and cupped his stubble cheek. "It's something I feel I have to do, but I can't and won't do this without your support. We are partners in everyway, so unless you don't..."_

 _Blake cuts her off with a smile as he placed his hand on top of hers that was still on his cheek. "I'll admit it will be a little weird seeing you pregnant when we aren't the parents, but deep down I know I can't deny you on doing this, so if it's something you feel you have to do, I'm behind you every step of the way."_

 _Lindsey started to smile. "Yeah?"_

 _He nodded in return. "Yeah."_

 _Lindsey sighed in relief that she had the support from her husband while she removed her hand before wrapping her arms around his waist for a hug. "Thank you."_

 _He wrapped his arms around her shoulders while taking a breath. "You're welcome, babe."_

 _She pulled back to look into his eyes again with a smile. "I should call her, she'll want to know as soon as possible."_

 _"Ok."_

 _They kiss softly on the lips before pulling back, then after she grabbed her phone from the night stand on her side of the bed, she hit speed dial #2 before putting the phone up to her ear._

* * *

 _Bailey was cuddled to Sam's side while they were sitting on the couch finishing up their glasses of wine when her phone started to ring from the coffee table. He kissed her temple before she moved from his side so she could get to her phone, and after putting her glass down on the coffee table, she grabbed her phone and answered it without looking at who was calling. "Grissom-Miller."_

 _"Hey it's me, and our answer is yes."_

 _There was a strangled sob, which concerned Sam as he leaned forward and placed his hand on her shoulder as Bailey spoke while looking at her husband. "Really, you will?"_

 _"Of course, Bay, you're my Best Friend, and I would do anything for you." There was a slight pause so Bailey could get the emotion out while Sam held her, and even Lindsey had tears in her eyes while hearing her, then when they came to, Lindsey cleared her throat before continuing. "So, how about getting you that baby."_

 _Bailey chuckled as she rested her head against her husband's shoulder. "Yes, let's do it."_

 _Lindsey chuckled before ending the phone call. "We'll talk more about it tomorrow."_

 _"Ok, thank you Lindsey, you don't know..."_

 _Lindsey cuts her off. "I do know how much this means to you, that's why I couldn't decline. I love you."_

 _"Love you too, Linds. See you later."_

 _"Yep, bye."_

 _"Bye."_

 _After they hung up, she sets her phone back down on the coffee table and turned to her husband before they wrapped their arms around one another, both sobbing in happiness again._

 _Their dream of having another biological child was still alive._

 _End of Flashback_

When they came back to the present, Bailey had tears in her eyes as she finally spoke to her husband. "Come here honey, come see your son."

With tears in Sam's eyes, he finally walked fully into the room and walked up to his wife with his arms held out, and after their son was in his arms, he looked down with a strangled sob as he spoke. "Look at him, he's so beautiful."

She ran her hand up and down his back as she whispered with emotion. "Yes, he is."

* * *

While the kids, including 11 year old Emmett Stokes since he was staying with Lindsey for a few weeks since it was summer vacation, were upstairs playing, Sara and Grissom were cuddled on the couch just enjoying this time together when his phone rang from the end table.

He kissed her head before she moved so he could turn toward the table so he could grab the phone, then he answered it as if he was still a CSI, after all old habits are hard to break. "Grissom."

He heard a sniffle. "Hi daddy, I just wanted to tell you your new grandson has arrived."

Grissom had tears in his eyes while Sara looked at him with concern, then he smiled and cupped his wife's cheek as he continued to talk on the phone. "That's wonderful butterfly, I hope we get to see him soon."

"Believe me you will, will you tell mom and the kids?"

"I will, love you."

"Love you too, see you later."

"Ok. Bye."

"Bye, daddy."

After they hung up, a tear ran down his cheek as he told his wife. "We have another grandchild, a grandson this time."

Tears started to come to her eyes as she cupped his cheek before wiping his tear away. "That's amazing."

Grissom nodded with a smile. "Yes it is, considering we weren't sure if we would be grandparents again this soon."

Sara nodded and leaned toward him before pecking him on the lips and bringing him in a hug. "Congratulations." Then she smirked. "Grandpa."

He chuckled and held her tighter to him. "You too, Grandma."

They held on to one another for a few minutes before pulling back so they could go share the news with the kids that there was a new family member to love.

* * *

AN: Hope you liked it. More to come as soon as I can, but it might be a few days. Please Review.


	2. Meeting their Grandchild

AN: Thank you for the reviews and support, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 2: Meeting their Grandchild

A few hours later

After awhile Bailey called her dad again and asked if he could bring little Sarah to the hospital so she could meet her brother, so they decided to make it into a family trip.

When they arrived there, Sam was standing in the waiting area, and when 3 year old Sarah saw her daddy, her bright blue eyes got wide. "Daddy!"

Sam's eyes got bright too as he kneeled down and held out his arms, Grissom, who had her hand, let her go so she could run, like three year olds can, to her dad before she was wrapped in his arms, then giggled when Sam blew on her stomach before giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Daddy loves you so much."

"Love you too. Mommy?"

Sam nodded with a smile. "Yes, we are going to see mommy and your new brother."

She smiled in return. "Brofher?" (Brother)

"Yes, a beautiful brother."

"Ok, let's go."

They chuckled, then after greeting the rest of the family, they headed for the elevator so it would take them to the nursery.

* * *

When they arrived at the window of the nursery they see Bailey inside the room holding her new bundle of joy, and when she saw them outside, she smiled and talked to one of the nurses before walking toward the door and out with her son in her arms.

"Mommy!"

Bailey smiled at her daughter. "Hi sweetie, I'll be with you in a minute." Little Sarah nodded with a smile before her mother looked at her grandpa, who was looking down at the newest member of the Grissom/Miller family.

Bailey cleared her throat and handed her son to him. "Daddy, meet your newest grandchild, Sam Gilbert Grissom-Miller Jr."

Grissom looked at his daughter with tears in his eyes as he asked softly. "After me?"

Bailey smiled with a nod. "After the two greatest men of my life."

Once he had a good hold of his grandson, he leaned over and kissed his daughter's cheek before pulling back. "Thank you."

Bailey sniffled with a smile. "You're very welcome."

As she turned her attention to her daughter, who already had her arms out for her, Sara, who was holding Blake Jr., asked. "How's Lindsey?"

Bailey kissed her daughter's temple before looking at her mother with a smile. "A little exhausted, which is expected, but really great."

They chuckled as Emmett spoke. "Can I see her?"

Before Bailey could answer, Blake Jr. asked. "Mommy?"

They chuckled again before Bailey nodded with a smile toward Emmett. "It looks like he's spoken. Why don't you grab Blake, and we'll go see your sister."

While Emmett smiled with a nod, Sam got into the conversation. "I'll take them honey so you can be with your family."

Bailey smiled with appreciation in her eyes. "Ok, thank you."

Sam kissed her on the cheek and her daughter's head before walking Emmett, who now had his nephew in his arms, to the elevator so they could see Lindsey and Blake, leaving the Grissom family to themselves so they could visit the baby some more.

* * *

About 30 minutes later, and after the grandparents and kids got to hold the newest member of the family, Sara and Grissom thought it was time to go home.

At first little Sarah didn't want to leave her mom, but when her grandparents promised her ice cream she gladly went into Sara's arms while the rest of them chuckled, then after stopping by Lindsey's room to check on her and to get Blake Jr. and Emmett, they walked toward the exit before walking out of the hospital.

When they were halfway to their vehicle, 13 year old Megan, who was still looking more like Sara everyday, looked up from her phone after receiving a text message from her best friend since first grade, Alexis Miller, and asked. "Dad, can you take me to the mall? I just got a text from Alexis and she asked if I could join her and a few of our other friends."

Grissom looked over at his teenage daughter and answered. "I don't know, we still have the other kids with us, your mom and I would really like your help."

She sighed. "But da..."

Arthur, her twin brother, who was still looking more like Grissom everyday spoke. "It's ok, dad, Ethan and I can cover for her."

Megan smiled, happy her brother came to the rescue. "See, dad, they can do it."

Grissom looked over at his oldest son and asked with a raised eyebrow. "You sure buddy?"

Arthur nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Grissom looked over at Sara as they stopped at their vehicle, and she shrugged her shoulder. "It's up to you honey."

Grissom looked over at his youngest daughter again, who was giving him the look; something he rarely said no to, especially because they were Sara's eyes looking back at him, then he sighed and nodded. "Ok, but as long as you got a ride home."

Megan's smile got a little wider. "Ok, I'll text her back and see."

Grissom nodded as he unlocked the doors so everybody could get in, and after helping Sara in the passenger seat once she had put Blake Jr. in his car seat, Grissom walked to the other side of the vehicle before putting little Sarah in her car seat before getting in the minivan driver's seat.

As he was driving toward the mall, Megan got a text message from Arthur, saying she now owed him, which she just smirked and text him back confirming that before receiving a text message from Alexis saying that her mom could drop her off at home, so once that was set up, Megan was really happy she got to go.

* * *

When he stopped in front of the mall, they see three familiar girls waiting on Megan; Alexis, who was about the same height and weight as Megan, had shoulder length red hair and green eyes, Monica Winters, who was slightly taller and bigger than the other girls, had short dark brown hair and brown eyes, and Chloe Jones, who was slightly shorter and small than the other girls, with black hair and hazel eyes.

Grissom looked back as Megan was taking her seat belt off. "Now remember..."

Megan cuts him, knowing exactly what he was going to say since this wasn't the first time this has been brought up. "I know dad, stay with my friends at all times, don't get into a vehicle I don't know, call you or mom if something is wrong. We've been over this a hundred times."

Grissom nodded with a slight smile. "And we'll keep going through it, I just want you to be safe."

"I know."

Then as she was getting out of the vehicle, he said. "Love you ladybug."

She turned around and gave him one more smile with a nod, indicating without words she loved him too, and closed the door, then after they saw her get to her friends, Grissom drove away.

* * *

25 minutes later

After walking through the mall, going in and out of the stores, mostly looking at the clothes with a stop at the music store, they just got to the arcade part of the mall, which was around the corner from the food court, when the girls saw three boys their age walk out of it, and Alexis says one of the boy's names. "Kyle."

Kyle Jordan with spiked blond hair and hazel eyes, the most cutest and popular boy in the eighth grade, who will, along with Megan's friends and his, will be in the freshman class when school starts up in September, stopped and turned around before looking at who said his name, then when he noticed who said it, looked to her right and smiled at Megan, making her smile shyly in return.

Megan was a very confident girl in almost everything she did, especially when it came to the classroom, but when it came to boys, particularly the one that was looking at her, she wasn't as confident. She really liked him. In fact, she can say he is her first major crush, and has been for the past two years, despite being in the the high school world for the last year.

After looking at one another in silence for a few seconds, Kyle speaks first after clearing his throat. "Hi."

Megan moves some of her hair behind her ear, a nervous act, as she replied shyly back. "Hi."

Knowing that her best friend was feeling more nervous with everybody starring at them, Alexis spoke. "Come on guys, let's give them a little space." Before the girls and the boys walked away to give them a little room.

When it was just the two of them, Kyle spoke again after a seconds pause while his heart was pounding. "So, uh, I was kind of wondering if you weren't doing anything this weekend, if you would like to go to the movies?"

Her heart was pounding too as she asked. "You mean, uh, just the two of us, or..."

"Yeah, I mean if that's ok?"

Megan's face lit up as she nodded. "I would love to." Kyle started to smile while his hazel eye's sparkled with happiness, then he lost it a little as Megan lost her smile and started to speak again, knowing how her dad will be. "Wait a minute, I would have to ask my dad first, and he would need to meet a parent."

He waved off her concern. "Oh, well that's no problem, it would have be just my dad though."

He lost his mother at a young age, so it was just him, his two younger brothers and dad.

Megan smiled and nodded. "Ok, I'll text or call you later and let you know."

"Ok." As she started to walk past him, Kyle spoke again. "Wait, Megan." Megan stopped her feet a second later, a little afraid he had already changed his mind, but her fear quickly went away when she had looked at him and noticed he was smiling at her again. "Don't you want my number?"

Megan chuckled nervously as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and handed it to him. "I guess if I want to call or text you later that would help." He chuckled with a nod as he put his number in her phone before handing it back to her with their eyes locked on one another.

A few seconds later, she cleared her throat and said. "I better go."

"Ok, I'll talk to you later."

After one more nod, Megan finally turned and started walking towards her friends as he watched her.

When she reached her friends, which the guys were already by their friend and they had started walking away, Alexis smiled. "So...?"

Megan smiled with a nod. "It's a go."

The girls cheered before they started walking again, and Megan quietly took a breath and whispered. "Now I just need to get my dad's permission."

She wasn't sure what he would say, but she hoped with all her might that he would say yes because she wasn't sure if this was her only shot with the boy she liked, and if it was, she didn't want to lose it.

* * *

Later that evening

While the kids were once again upstairs, Sara and Grissom were on the couch reading their books, when the front door opened by a very excited Megan, who started talking the minute she came into the house, but because her speech was so fast and jumbled together, Grissom chuckled and held up his hand before asking. "Hold on sweetie, what are you trying to ask?"

Megan took a breath before starting over. "I wanted to ask if I can go to the movies this weekend, and before you ask, it's with a boy."

Sara looked up from her book to look at her husband as Grissom raised an eyebrow. "As in a date?"

Megan's face lit up while she nodded. "Yeah, so please, can I go?"

Grissom looked over at his wife, hoping she would disagree with it, but no such luck, and not wanting to ruin his youngest first date, he mentally sighed as he looked at her with a small smile. "Ok." She started to cheer but Grissom held up his hand and continued. "But we have to meet him and at least one of his parents."

"I know and he's aware of that, he said it will have be just his dad."

There was one more pause before he nodded. "Alright, you set that up and you can go."

Megan ran to her father with a smile and gave him a hug. "Thanks Daddy."

After pulling back, she turned and ran to and up the stairs so she could get to her room as soon as possible so she could make some very important phone calls, one being to the boy she liked and to her friends.

When she was out of the room, Grissom sighed again, this time out-loud as he looked over at his wife with a sad face, which she really tried not to laugh, before speaking softly. "It's starting, I'm losing my last daughter."

Sara took a breath and cupped his cheek with a sympathy look. "Well, you knew this would eventually happen."

Grissom nodded while he placed his hand on top of hers that was still on his cheek. "I know, I was just kind of hoping I would have a few more years."

Sara shook her head with a small chuckle. "No such luck bug-man." She paused before continuing. "Least her first crush was someone her own age, she didn't follow in Bailey's footsteps there."

Grissom smiled with a nod. "True."

She leaned toward him and pecked him on the lips before speaking softly with love in her eyes. "And you still have me babe, because I'm not going anywhere."

He swallowed the lump in his throat, even after all this time and her saying stuff like that still got to him, before asking softly. "You promise?"

With tears shinning in her eyes, she smiled as she ran her thumb up and down his cheek. "Absolutely, I'm not ready to say goodbye."

He smiled, and after another peck on the lips, they placed their foreheads together before whispering their love to one another, and even after 14, going on 15, years of being married to one another, that word hadn't lost its meaning one bit.

* * *

AN: Hope you liked it. More soon. Please review.


	3. A Name from the Past

AN: Thank you for the reviews and support. So sorry about the delay, here is the next chapter. Warning: Case Details.

* * *

Chapter 3: A Name from the Past

Two days later

Wrapped in each other's arms, Bailey and Sam were sound asleep when they were woken up by crying coming from the baby monitor on their nightstand, and just as Bailey was getting ready to get up, he kissed her head and whispered. "I'll do it, you rest."

She smiled at him through the darkness. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

He kissed her head one more time before releasing her and getting out of bed, then grabbed his robe and puts it over his t-shirt and boxers before walking out of the room and into the nursery.

When 30 minutes went by and he wasn't back yet, meaning Bailey hadn't fallen back asleep since he wasn't near her, she softly sighed as she removed the covers from her. Ever since they started sharing a bed it was hard for either one to sleep without the other, which was kind of a problem at times since she still worked the night shift, but somehow they managed. Except at this moment.

Once she grabbed her robe, putting it over her UNLV sweatpants and t-shirt, she walked out of the room and headed for the room that was next to theirs, then stopped in the doorway and watched her men.

Sam was sitting in the rocking chair talking softly to their son, who now had his eyes closed; and when he felt her presence, he looked up sheepishly. "Sorry babe, I just got to talking to our little man and I couldn't put him down."

She smiled brightly as she walked into the room before whispering once she was near him. "I know what you mean, but if we want to be awake for the party my parents are hosting tomorrow for our prince, we are going to need as much sleep as possible."

He nodded with a little sigh, sad that he had to put their son back in his crib, which Bailey knew exactly how he felt.

Once they were at the crib, Sam leaned down and kissed his son softly on the forehead before whispering against his skin. "Good night buddy, Love you."

After Bailey kissed her son on the forehead and whispered her love to him too, Sam tucked their little one in before they turned and walked out the room, cracking the door in the process, then they headed for the other room that was next to their sons to check on their princess before going back to their room hand in hand for some much needed rest.

* * *

The Afternoon

When it was time for the party, everybody they invited had arrived, including Brass, Sam's sister, Charlotte, her four year old daughter, Rose, six year old son, Anthony, and her new man, which happened to be her high school sweetheart. When they reconnected six months ago it was like they hadn't missed a beat, and he loved her kids, which only made this reunion better.

While the older kids were outside playing, including 12 year old Eli Brown, and the younger kids were getting held and gushed over by the group, Sara couldn't help but look at the group, and she secretly smiled when she witnessed a close moment between Greg and Morgan.

For a few years now she'd felt that there was something between them, but whether they were aware of that or not she wasn't sure.

Her thoughts get interrupted when Grissom came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist, and just as he kissed her temple, their oldest daughter started to speak as Sara softly sighed in content.

"Hi everybody, thank you for coming. It is a very special time, and I would like to thank a few people personally, they are the reason we are here today celebrating another member of the family." Bailey looked at her parents with a smile. "Thank you mom and dad for opening your home to us."

They smiled with nods and mouthed 'I love you' as Bailey smiled back with a nod before she turned her attention to Lindsey, who was standing next to her while they both started to have tears in their eyes before she even spoke. "And Lindsey, without your selfless act, Sam and I wouldn't have a beautiful baby boy. There are no words that I could say that would do justice on what I feel for what you did for our family, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you so much."

The women hugged as their husband's hand ran up and down their backs for comfort.

When they pulled back Lindsey sniffled with a nod. "You are so welcome, Bay."

They smiled at one another before she stepped up to Blake and gave him a hug, thanking him too.

When they pulled back he nodded with a smile, then smirked. "Like I really had a choice. You know once she has her mind on something, it's happening."

They chuckled with nods, and after toasting to their newest member, they took a sip and went back to talking in small circles, all happy in this environment, despite missing two key family members.

* * *

San Diego, California

Couple Hours later

"Sure buddy, you can stay there for another week. We'll see you next Monday then, love you too. Alright, bye."

Nick hangs up his cell phone and looks at his wife, who was sitting at her office desk, and they smiled at each other before Nick spoke to her. "It looks like we'll have the house to ourselves for a little bit longer."

"I see, so what would you like to do with an empty house, Mr. Stokes."

He walked over to her desk and held out his hand, and after she grabbed it, he helped her up and placed his hands on her hips while whispering. "I'm sure we can think of something, Mrs. Stokes."

Her eyes sparkled with a nod as she placed her forehead to his once he leaned down, then he sighed. "I'm sorry."

She pulled back a second later and looked at him with confusion. "What could you possibly be sorry for?"

He then cupped her cheek while continuing. "I know how much you miss being in Vegas, in your home there, close to our family."

She shook her head and placed her hand on top of his. "Yeah, I miss them, but you have to know I don't regret making this move. It was your turn to be a boss, you worked hard to get here, you earned it." Emotion was coming out as she finished. "Besides, you're my home, and I'm nothing without you."

He spoke softly with love, even after 13 years of marriage he still felt that strong love towards her. "I love you, so much."

She still felt it too.

"I love you too."

Even knowing they shouldn't be like this at work, they moved toward one another to kiss, but stopped halfway there when Nick's phone started to ring again.

They sighed as he spoke while running his thumb up and down her cheek. "Maybe that was for the best."

She smirked with a nod. "Yeah, because we may of had to lock the door, then that'll get everybody's attention."

He raised an eyebrow as he smirked while his hand went down to his pocket. "You mean again."

She chuckled as she lightly hit his shoulder. "Oh, get the phone."

He chuckled as he pulled the phone out of his pocket before getting serious as he answered it. "Stokes." After a few words back and forth Nick ends the call and looks at his wife while placing his phone back in his pocket. "There's a new case."

She nodded in understanding as she asked. "You want me to take it? Technically shift isn't over so I'm still on the clock."

"If you want."

She closed the file she had been working on with a nod. "Might as well, I need a break from all this paperwork." He nodded with a smile as she asked. "You want to join for old times sake?" Before he could answer, she smirked as she grabbed her kit. "Unless you are too busy that is. You know being the big boss now, you might not have time to get your hands dirty anymore."

He chuckled while shaking his head. "Why not, my schedule is pretty clear right now."

Catherine smiled with her eyes twinkling, happy to work with him again since it's been awhile. His eyes were twinkling too, because he also missed working with her out in the field.

A few seconds later, Nick cleared his throat and continued. "Well, we better get working, because the faster we get done the sooner we get to go on our date." She smiled with a nod before they left her office and the lab.

* * *

When they arrived at their crime scene; an alleyway, the ME, Devon Miles, who was African American with Warrick's build and height, a shaved head, brown eyes and clean shaven was already there.

As they were getting closer to him, Catherine spoke. "What do we have, Devon?"

He looked up from the victim and gave the couple a small smile before he cleared his throat and answered. "I can't give you much until I do the autopsy, but cause of death I believe was strangulation."

They looked down at the young girl and Catherine shook her head. "She was too young."

After a few pictures was taken, Devon tossed the small purse to Nick, and after he saw the ID, he said. "Elizabeth Hughes, 20, and she was going to Stanford University."

Catherine looked over at her husband immediately. "So, an out of Towner?" He looked at his wife with a nod, and when he noticed something shifted in her eyes, he asked in concern. "What's wrong, Cath?"

She shook her head and cleared her throat before looking down at Devon again.  
"The first thing I want you to do is find out if she was raped."

Devon nodded. "You got it."

Catherine nodded before she continued to investigate the scene while Nick stood there for a few seconds watching her before he also started looking around the scene.

* * *

Hours later

Catherine sighed in frustration as she closed the case file and stood up from the chair she was sitting in at the conference table before walking over toward the fridge to get something to drink.

Nick, who had been sitting next to her, gets up from his seat and asked her. "What is it? What's got you so rattled about this case? Unfortunately this isn't our first strangle/rape case."

After talking to the victim's friends, who had made the trip with her, and the potential suspects that had been hitting on her, there was no other suspects at the moment, so unfortunately they were at a dead end until the DNA lab was done with the evidence they had turned in.

Catherine nodded as she closed the fridge, then she took a breath and turned to him while shaking her head before speaking softly. "But the signs are pointing to something I'm not liking."

He looked at her with confusion. "What do you mean? I don't under..."

He gets cut off when Christine Dalton, their DNA expert, walked in the doorway and cleared her throat. "Excuse me, but I have the results you wanted."

Catherine held out her hand to the young, tall, blond haired, blue eyed, DNA expert, so she walked in the room, and after handing the paper to her supervisor, she walked to the counter to get some coffee, but stopped short when Catherine's voice was hard. "I want you to run it again."

She turned around and frowned at her. "Mrs. Stokes, I always do it twice, there is no mistake, I assure you."

Even though deep down she expected this result, she was still hoping it wasn't true. "We didn't hire you to question my request. I said run it again!"

Nick placed his hand on her shoulder while speaking with concern, knowing she can lose her temper at times, but something was definitely up, he was more sure than ever. "Catherine, I'm sure she did everything right."

Catherine then turned to look at him with a hard look and handed him the sheet. "You want to know why I'm so rattled about his case, here, look for yourself."

Still looking at her with concern, he grabbed the DNA results from her then looked down at it before gasping and looking at her again, realizing why she was so upset. "How is this possible? Isn't Tom Richardson still locked up?"

* * *

AN: Oh ooo. Find out what happens next, I'll post soon. Please Review

*Tom Richardson was from the third story in the series, No matter the Distance* In case you forgot.


	4. Unsettling News

AN: Thank you for the reviews, once again sorry for the delay, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 4: Unsettling News

Catherine cleared her throat and nodded. "Yes, he was transferred to LA a few years ago."

Even though he understood some cases/suspects stuck with them through the years, Nick was a little surprised that she knew that without hesitating, so he raised an eyebrow and asked. "You've been keeping track of him?"

"No, just when I had a feeling about the case, I called around and found all of that out."

Just as she finished speaking, but before Nick could speak, Catherine frowned as something on the TV caught her eye, so she asked. "Christine, please turn up the volume."

She nodded and did what Catherine had asked before all three of them heard the special report, which was coming from LA. "Carlos Wade, who was a well respected man in the community, has died, he was 38. We don't know the cause of the death at the moment..."

As the news reporter continued to speak, Nick looked at his wife, who looked like she had seen a ghost, so he placed his hand on her shoulder and asked. "Cath, what is it?"

She shook her head out of the zoned state she was in before clearing her throat and looking at her husband. "That's who I talked to about Tom, he's the warden at the prison Tom's in."

Nick removed his hand from his wife's shoulder before speaking as he started walking toward the door. "It's time to go see what's really going on."

Catherine followed him out of the room and down the hall to the exit of the building, and commented. "We don't have jurisdiction there."

Nick smiled as he placed his sunglasses on. "That's one of the perks of being a big boss, we have certain connections."

Catherine smiled a little back as they stopped at the passenger side of the vehicle. "We should think about calling Sara."

He nodded. "And we will, but I want to know what's going on first, we need more before we cause her and Bailey panic."

"Ok."

After one more short smile toward one another, he helped her in the vehicle before walking to the driver's side, more curious on what was going on.

* * *

Hours later

When they arrived in LA, and after finding out where the warden lived, they headed toward his neighborhood and house, then when they got there, they saw that familiar yellow tape on the property as the cops and CSI's were doing their jobs while the neighbors were outside on the sidewalks and on their lawns looking toward the victim's house.

Once Nick parked on the side of the road, they get out and walked towards the yellow tape, where they were stopped by one of the police officers, but instead of Nick speaking to him, he called out to one of the detectives.

Jay Simmons, who was Catherine's age and Nick's height and athletic build with medium length brown hair and brown eyes, looked in the direction of where his name was being called from before giving Nick a smile as he walked up toward them. "It's ok Rogers, they're good."

The cop nodded and lifted up the yellow tape to allow the CSI's entrance, and after they were on the other side, Nick and Jay shook hands before he introduced Catherine. "And this is my wife and Day Shift supervisor, Catherine Willows-Stokes."

After Jay greeted her warmly, he looked at Nick and asked. "So, what's going on? What brings you by to the neck of my woods."

Nick cleared his throat and nodded toward the house. "The victim."

He raised an eyebrow as he asked with curiosity. "What would you want with him?"

"He's the warden of the prison that has a suspect that we are looking into, and Catherine said she had talked to him earlier."

He then looked at Catherine with a little surprise. "Earlier, as in Today?"

"Yeah."

Jay shook his head. "I don't see how that is possible."

They both looked at him with curiosity now as Nick asked. "What do you mean?"

"Primarily report suggests that he's been dead for at least 36 hours."

They gasped as Catherine asked. "How is that even possible? If he was as popular as the news report said and the warden to a prison, even married, someone would have known sooner that he was dead. Not to mention I did talk to him."

"Yeah on the phone, where anybody could personate someone."

"True, but that..."

Jay held up his hand to stop her and continued. "And it did help the wife was out of town the last three days."

Nick spoke this time. "Ok, but that still doesn't..."

Jay cuts him off this time with a sigh. "Well, if you guys let me finish I can probably shed light on the last issue you have." They stopped speaking with a slight guilty smile before he finished. "He could do all that if he had a twin brother."

They gasped again and looked at him wide-eyed as Catherine explained. "A twin brother!?"

Jay nodded. "Looks completely identical, it's hard to tell one from the other, unless you know them so well. But their life styles, completely night and day. Sonny, his brother, spent most of his young, and adult life for that matter, going in and out of prison. He was actually released from his latest stint last week."

Nick asked. "Do you think he had something to do with the death of his brother?"

He sighed and shrugged. "I don't know yet, we are trying to find him to ask him questions, but no luck yet."

They nodded in understanding as Catherine looked over at her husband. "I don't have a good feeling about this, Tom is somehow involved, especially with his DNA at our crime scene."

Nick nodded in agreement with his wife. "I think we should go to the prison."

As Catherine nodded in agreement, Jay spoke. "I could make some calls to check."

Nick looked over at the other man and shook his head. "Thanks, but we need to go there and see for ourselves, this is too important."

Jay nodded as he held out his hand. "No problem, call if you need anything."

Nick smiled at him and shook his hand. "Thanks, we will."

After shaking Catherine's hand, and Jay offering to pay for a drink the next time either one is in their respective cities, Nick and Catherine walked toward the vehicle, feeling a knot come into their stomachs.

* * *

They arrived at the prison not long after leaving the warden's house, which at first they and anybody else who wanted in today were denied entrance because of a lock-down, but with a few promises about having him needing to find a new job once Nick talked to people higher than him, they were allowed in and eventually ended up in one of the rooms before waiting for Tom Richardson to come in.

A few minutes later the other door opened and the prisoner was escorted by a guard in front and behind him, but the moment Nick saw the prisoner, he shook his head with his heart pounding, knowing exactly what the revelation meant. "This isn't Tom Richardson."

He knew prison changed people, but he also knew the other man he was looking at wasn't him, he was shorter and skinner than Tom ever was, and Nick's confidence on knowing this man wasn't him only intensified when he spoke. "You are mistaken, Mr. Stokes, I am Tom."

His tone didn't seem that confident, and when Nick took a step closer to the other man, it almost looked like he lowered his poster. The Tom he knew was confident, cocky even, and would never react like that.

One of the guards shook his head in confusion. "Mr. Stokes, I assure you..."

Nick shook his head and looked right at him. "It's not him, you two must be new, you've been duped into thinking this man is Tom." Nick looked at the imposter and asked. "Where is he?"

He looked at Nick trying to stay strong, but the longer Nick looked at him in that intimidating way, he cracked. "He wanted me tell you that he said hi, and wanted you pass along that hi to his 'girls', especially that young one, Bailey, I believe he said her name was."

Nick's gaze took a harder look as he started to step even closer to him, but before he could get to him one of the guards stepped in front of him, stopping his movements and making him look over his shoulders. "Why are you doing this? Why are you playing his game?"

There was a slight pause, then the inmate looked down and started to speak softly. "He saw her ok? I had no other choice."

"Who did he see? I don't understand."

The inmate looked at Nick again before speaking again. "My Half-sister. Against my many protests of not wanting her to see me like this, she came and visited me anyways, and somehow, someway this Tom guy got a picture of her and told me that I was now part of his game and if I didn't do what he wanted, then he was going to kill her. He said she was the perfect victim for him." He sighed before he finished. "I didn't know what else to do. He seemed like a big deal here and probably had many connections, so I just told him I would do whatever he wanted as long as he didn't harm her. I don't know anything more than that, that was the only conversation I ever had with him, I swear."

"Yeah, and your quietness had caused another sibling to lose their sister, and parents losing their daughter."

The inmate looked ashamed as he shook his head. "I'm So..."

He didn't get to finish because Nick spoke again another hard tone, almost like a promise. "You just better hope nothing happens to anybody else." Then he turned and started walking toward the door with Catherine following him.

Just before they got to the end of the hall after leaving the room, where a guard was standing there so he could open the other door that would take them to the main hall, they stopped to take a few breaths and Nick looked down with his back against the wall, making Catherine place her hand on his shoulder for comfort as she whispered. "Nothing is going to happen to them."

Nick looked into the comforting eyes of his wife with a small sigh. "It better not."

"We don't even know if he's going there."

Nick shook his head. "I don't know, it almost sounded like he was taun..."

He trialed off mid-sentence and looked at her with his eyes a little wide, realizing something, as Catherine looked at him with concern. "Nick, what's wrong?"

He cleared his throat before he continued. "He knew we, or at least I would be here asking questions. Meaning..."

Catherine finished for him. "He knew we moved from Vegas."

He nodded as they started walking again, then continued to speak in a no-nonsense tone. "I want to know who had any involvement with Tom and his list of visitors in both prisons."

As they were walking out into the other hall, Catherine spoke. "I think we need to also call Sara, she should know what's going on."

He looked over at her, and just as he nodded in agreement, his phone started to ring, so he answered it. "Stokes."

"Hey, Nick, it looks like Sonny won't be much use to us after all."

Feeling he knew what was going on, Nick sighed and shook his head. "Don't tell me, dead?"

"You got it, how dangerous is this Tom guy?"

"Well, killing male's wasn't his MO, but at this point I wouldn't put anything passed him."

After a few more words back and forth, they hung up, and while Nick puts his phone back on the clip, he shared a look with his wife before they continued on their tasks, hoping no more blood shed at the hands of Tom will happen, especially to two very important people in their lives.

* * *

Las Vegas, Nevada

(Later that Evening)

Sara was holding her grandson and sitting at the kitchen table while Bailey was at the sink finishing the dishes.

"Honey, you don't have to do that."

Bailey looked over at her mother with a smile, which was a little bright because she loved watching her mother look happy when she was holding her grandchildren. Then she cleared her throat and replied. "It's the least I could do, this was our party and you offered to have it here."

"Well, thank you sweetie, I guess it will be good I won't have to deal with it later."

As Bailey nodded, Sara's phone started to ring on the kitchen counter, and after Bailey looked to see who was calling, she turned toward her mother again and asked. "It's Uncle Nick, can I answer it?"

Sara nodded with a smile. "Sure."

Bailey smiled as she wiped her hands on a hand towel before she picked up her mother's phone and answered it. "Hi Uncle Nick."

Not expecting Bailey to answer the phone, it made him pause for a second before he replied. "Hi honey, can I talk to your mother?"

Hearing the tone of his voice, Bailey spoke as she walked to her mother. "Sure."

She removes her phone from her ear and hands it out to her mother while speaking quietly. "I have a feeling something is going on."

Sara nodded as they traded the phone for the baby, and once Sara had her phone and it was up to her ear, she asked. "What's up Nick?"

He cleared his throat before he started speaking. "Now we don't know with 100% certainty that it will happen, but we have a very good feeling that..."

Sara cuts his rambling off with a slight frown on her face. "What's going on Nick? What are you trying to tell me?"

"Ok, here it is. Tom Richardson is on the loose, and while we don't have concrete proof, we have a feeling he's heading back to Vegas."

There was a slight gasp coming from Sara as she stood up from the chair she had been sitting in before she walked to the kitchen counter, making Bailey, who had been sitting in another chair at the table looking down at her son, look towards her mother's back as she continued to speak on the phone. "How can that happen?"

"We concluded that the warden had a twin brother, who was in the same prison as Tom, and when he was released, he hired a hit man to kill to his brother so he could take over his life and made pulls to transfer him out, but in reality he..."

Nick trailed off as Sara finished. "Released him."

"And in turn, Tom turned on him and killed him."

Sara sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, he got what wanted so he didn't need him anymore."

"Sara, I'm..."

Sara cuts him off. "I know, is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"We also believe someone else is involved. We don't know exactly what his involvement actually is, but considering Tom found out I moved away, we thought it was worth looking into."

"I agree, thanks Nick."

"We just knew that you should know, and know that if you need anything you know my number."

"Yeah, thanks again."

"Be safe, and we'll talk again soon."

"Ok, bye, Nick."

"Bye, Sar."

While they hung up the phone, and as Sara's back was still facing Bailey, Bailey stood up from the her seat and walked up to her mother before asking softly. "Mom, what's going on?"

Sara took a breath before she turned and faced her daughter, who was looking even more concerned the moment she saw the look on her mother's face. "There is something I have to tell you."

Trying to keep herself from being too tensed, Bailey nodded. "Ok, what is it?"

There was a slight pause before Sara spoke again. "Tom Richardson is out on the streets."

* * *

AN: What Grissom says after finding out about Tom next chapter will make a certain family member not happy. Find out what happens next. Please review.

BensidyXx-Yes, you are right.


	5. Breaking The News

AN: Thanks for the reviews, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 5: Breaking The News

Still trying not to tense too much so she wouldn't upset her son, she gasped a little before asking. "How?"

While Sara was explaining it to her, she started to get a worried look on her face, which her mother began to notice, so she cupped her cheek and stated with determination. "Nothing is going to happen to you sweetie, I won't let it, I promise."

She took a breath before she was about to speak, but didn't get to because the kitchen door had opened while they heard their husband's laughs filling the room, which they had stopped laughing the moment they saw the mother/daughter scene and felt something off in the room, so now they looked worried.

Grissom walked up to his wife and daughter, while Sara removed her hand from Bailey's cheek. "What's going on?"

Sam asked the same question as he stopped next to his wife and placed his hand on the small of her back.

Sara cleared her throat before looking over at her husband. "Tom Richardson is out."

Grissom paused slightly, thinking about the cases through the years, but then he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm not famil..."

Sara cuts her husband off. "It was the first case I had when I came back to Vegas while you were in Paris."

He nodded in understanding as the details started to come to him before looking at Bailey. "Where Bailey used herself as bait."

Before anymore words were said, Sam gasped as he looked over at his wife with shock. "She did what?"

Bailey gave her parents a sarcastic 'thank you for that' look, which they looked at her a little guilty for bringing that part up, but in their defense they weren't aware that he didn't know that, before Bailey looked over at her husband. "Please, not now. We'll talk about that later."

As much as he wanted to have this discussion, he knew now wasn't the time, so he just nodded before Bailey looked at her parents before Sara started speaking again. "Now, we don't know for sure what his plan is, but Nick believes he's coming here."

Grissom raised an eyebrow. "Nick? How are they involved?" After Sara explained everything that was relayed to her, Grissom spoke again in a determined voice. "Until we feel the threat is gone, I want both of you two protected, and before you start to argue about it, there are no buts about this."

Instead of Sara speaking, Bailey nodded and replied for the both of them. "We understand, dad."

Grissom smiled with a nod, happy there was no arguments about it, but his victory was short lived when Sara spoke next. "And what about Megan's date this weekend?"

Before Grissom could reply, Bailey looked at her mother with a raised eyebrow, she was not aware of this development. "Wait a minute, a date? Megan's dating now, when did this happen?"

Grissom took that answer quickly. "It is one date." They couldn't help but chuckle a little on that before he continued after clearing his throat. "I don't want the kids going anywhere unless either one of us is with them. That being said, I don't feel her going on the date at this time is a good idea, not until we know it's safe, I don't want to take any chances."

The adults agreed as Sara placed her hand on his shoulder. "You want me to tell her?"

Knowing how Megan will feel about this, Sara was willing to take the brunt of her anger.

Grissom shook his head with sigh. "No, I'll do it. In fact, we should have a family meeting so we can talk to them all at once."

Sara nodded. "Ok."

After Bailey handed her son to her husband, the four of them walked into the living room before Grissom stood at the base of the stairs and shouted up to the bedrooms while the rest of the adults headed for the couch to sit down. "Kids, please come down here, we need to talk."

When the kids, including little Sarah, made it to the top of the stairs they started walking down them, and the older ones could feel the air in the room a little off, so Arthur started to speak. "Is it just me or is something serious about to go down here?"

Megan shook her head. "Nope, it isn't just you."

"OK, I'm glad that it wasn't just me."

After little Sarah was in her mother's arms after running to her once her feet touched the living room floor, Grissom cleared his throat as he looked at three of his children. "Guys, something has come up, and it's pretty serious so things are going to be a little different for a bit."

Not really sure how they should feel about that at the moment, Arthur asked. "Like what, dad?"

"For one, you are not to go anywhere unless you are with me, your mom, or sister, no exceptions."

The boys groaned a little as Megan started speaking, realizing something very quickly. "Wait a minute, what about my date Saturday? You said I could go."

Grissom shook his head. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but for now it will have to be postponed."

"But da..."

Grissom raised his hand up and spoke with a harder tone, a tone he really doesn't use a lot with his kids. "No buts about this, I'm sorry, my word is finale."

She sighed loudly and looked at her mother, looking for a shred of hope that it wasn't true. "Mom?"

But she got the same answer from her because Sara really did agree with her husband on this. "I'm sorry sweetie, but I agree with your father."

Megan shook head as she said back. "Of course you do." Before either parent could speak, she continued in a hard tone as she looked at her father. "You wanted this to happen because you never really wanted me to go on this date in the first place, all you see is this little girl, but I'm not a little girl anymore, and soon you're going to have to realize that."

Then she ran up the stairs before going to her room and slamming her door shut, making the people downstairs wince at the sound. It also made Little Sarah have a pout on her face. "Mgan (Megan) sad?"

Bailey kissed the top of her daughter's head before handing her off to her mother. "Just a little upset sweetie, I'm going to talk to her, so why don't you hang out with grandma." Little Sarah smiled with happiness, not minding one bit about this arrangement since she loved her grandmother very much.

After Bailey got off the couch, she walked to her father and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'll go talk to her dad."

Grissom gave his oldest an appreciated smile, which there was a little sadness in there too while he nodded. "Thank you butterfly."

Bailey smiled at the nickname before removing her hand from his shoulder and walking upstairs while Grissom continued to talk to the boys.

When she made it to the correct bedroom, which was her old room when she had lived at home, she knocked on the door before speaking. "Megan, can I talk to you for a minute?"

There was a slight pause before she sighed and answered. "Yeah, I guess." Then as her sister opened the door, she continued. "But I don't see how it's going to change anything because I know you'll agree with them on this too, just like you always do."

After the door was closed, Bailey walked to her desk chair before moving it over to the bed, which Megan had moved so her back was toward her, and sat down while replying. "Well, in this particular circumstance I really do."

"See, I told you so."

Then Bailey shook her head. "And I don't always side with them."

She made an objective noise as she turned around so she was now facing her sister, but still laying down as she continued. "Yeah right, most times I feel like I have a third parent, not an older sister."

Bailey then does a little sigh as she looked at her with sympathy. "I'm sorry about that then. I took care of you a lot when you were younger, especially when I was helping out mom while dad was still in Paris, and I guess some times I want to over protect you, it's kind of a hard habit to break. Plus, I'm a mother now so I know exactly how they feel, and to be clear if my daughter was in your shoes at this moment, my reaction would have been the same as dad's."

Megan looked at her sister with wide-eyes. "So, it really is serious then?"

Bailey nodded. "You're right, deep down dad's not ready for you to go on this date, but he wouldn't have not wanted you to go because of circumstance that is happening."

"What's going on then?"

Bailey couldn't help but smirk next. "You should ask them because I'm suppose to be the older sister not the parent, remember? I can't be one, one minute, than the other, the next."

Megan showed her sister her fist smile since she's been up her while nodding her head. "Touché."

After a small chuckled from the both of them, Megan sighed as she started to speak. "I guess I'm just a little upset because this could've have been my only chance with him, and now it's gone."

Bailey shook her head again. "If this boy really cares about you then he'll understand, and if not, believe me they'll be other boys before you know it."

She was a little skeptical about that, but she did ask in a slight hopeful tone. "You really think so?"

Bailey leaned forward as she cupped her little sister's cheek while looking into her bright brown eyes. "Are you kidding? You are a very beautiful, smart girl, and any boy who looks your way will be the luckiest one in the world. And remember not all first crushes have to go anywhere, it could be just that, a crush."

Megan couldn't help but smirk with her next works. "I don't see how you can use that logic with me, considering I know you eventually married your first crush, I believe Blake was Lindsey's first true crush, and let's face it, dad was mom's first serious crush too."

Bailey chuckled as she removed her hand from sister's cheek. "Ok, you got me there Ms. smarty pants." Megan chuckled too as Bailey continued. "All I'm trying to say is there will be other boys, and if it is meant to be with the one you are currently crushing over, then it will happen."

Megan sighed as she looked down at the stuffed puppy she had in her arms. "I hope so because I really do like him, and I would like to have some type of story to tell when it comes to my first crush other than I did get asked out but never got to go out with him."

There was a slight pause before Bailey started to speak again, seeing how much she really did care about the boy she wanted to go on a date with. "I'll tell you what, when you call or text him, ask if he can join you for ice cream tomorrow, and Sam and I will take you guys there so you can explain to him what's going on, so then if nothing more happens, least you'll have some type of story to tell."

Megan looked up from her stuffed puppy to look at her sister with happiness, it wasn't the type of first date she would have liked, but it was better than nothing or having her parents tag along, so she'll take what her sister was offering without any complaints. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Megan moved so she could hug her sister's neck. "Thank you."

She wrapped her arms around her sister and hugged her back. "You're welcome."  
As they pulled back, she continued. "And go a little easy on dad, he loves you and just wants you to be safe. And I'll tell you a little secret, it won't matter how old you get, dad will always look at you as his girl."

She raised an eyebrow as she asked. "Yeah, why is that?"

Bailey smiled. "That's a parent thing, you'll understand when you become a mother."

She scrunched up her nose as she shook her head. "Which won't happen for a very long time."

Bailey chuckled. "Mom and Dad will be happy to hear that."

"Huh? I thought they love grandchildren?"

"They do, but only when their children are ready and old enough to care for them."

Megan nodded in understanding. "I see."

Bailey nodded too, then looked at her watch before looking at her sister again. "I guess it's time to go home and put your niece and nephew down to sleep." While Megan nodded again, Bailey started to stand up. "You ok now?"

Megan sighed with one more nod. "Yeah, but now I feel a little bad for talking to him like that."

Bailey gave her sister a little smile. "He'll understand. You're a teenager, outbursts like that are in your DNA."

Megan chuckled as they wrapped their arms around one another again. "Love you, Bailey."

"I love you too, little squirt."

Once they pulled back, Bailey started walking toward the bedroom door, and once she was there, she looked back at her little sister. "Have a good night."

"You too."

After one more smile, Bailey left the room, closing the door behind her.

When Bailey made it downstairs, Grissom was still standing while the boys were sitting on the couch between Sara and Sam.

Grissom looked toward the stairs as Bailey stepped down on the living room floor, then she walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I think crisis averted. She was just afraid that this was her only shot with the boy she likes. I did promise to take her and him for ice cream tomorrow."

"Ok. Thank you."

"Now you just need to tell her what's going on."

Grissom gave her a small smile and another nod, then father and daughter hugged before she went to her brother's and gave them hugs and reassuring words that they'll be ok.

After she took Little Sarah from her mother's arms, and they shared a one arm hug, Sara and Grissom said goodbye to their grandchildren.

Once all the goodbyes were exchanged, Sara led the small family to the front door, and once the door was opened, Sara asked. "You still coming into work tonight?"

Bailey's response was immediate. "If his purpose was to scare me into hiding under a rock, he picked the wrong woman because I'm not hiding from anybody. I'll be there, you can bet on that."

Sara nodded in understanding, feeling the same way. "Ok, I'll see you later then, I'll call for protection duty, so don't be surprised to see a cop outside of your door later or at the very least your parking lot."

"Ok. Love you mom."

Sara kissed her daughter's cheek before she smiled at her. "Love you too, sweetie."

Bailey then looked back at the rest of her family. "Love you guys, see you again soon."

They reciprocated the sentiment before Bailey walked out of the house, joining her husband and son before they started walking toward their vehicle, and only when Sara saw them drive away did she shut the front door.

When the door clicked shut, she took a breath before looking at her sons. "Why don't you guys go upstairs and get ready for bed and I'll check on you later, ok?"

Ethan and Arthur nodded as they got up from the couch and walked to their father so they could share a hug before they walked to their mother, who wrapped her arms around them both and whispered. "I love you two so much."

The boys replied at the same time. "Love you too, mom."

Sara kissed their temples before they pulled back so they could head back upstairs.

Once the boys were out of the room, Sara and Grissom looked at one another and their braveness went away a second later, knowing they would only show one another how they really felt about the new situation, then he held out his arms before she walked right to him and wrapped her arms around his waist while he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her head before whispering his love and comfort to her.

A few seconds later, he sighed and started to say. "Sara..."

But she cuts him off while she shook her head as she pulled back from his arms. "Don't say it Grissom, I'm not missing work because of this situation. Like what Bailey said, if his purpose was to scare us into hiding, he picked the wrong women to mess with. We may be a little more cautious for the time-being but I'm not going to stop living my life the way I want to." Before Grissom could speak, she cleared her throat and wiped a couple of tears off her cheek before putting the braveness back up as she finished. "Now, let's go talk to our other daughter and explain our reasoning on why we feel the need to postpone her first date."

Then she headed upstairs without another word while Grissom stood in the middle of the room and watched her with a slight smile on his face; he just couldn't help it sometimes, because after all this time, and as much as he loves the soft and loving side of his wife, her determination and strong side only made him admire her even more. Even if he was still a little worried on what was going on.

He took a breath and walked to the front door to lock it and set the alarm before walking upstairs to join his wife.

* * *

AN: Find out what happens next. Update will come soon. Please review.


	6. Possible Connection?

AN: Thank you for the reviews, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 6: Possible Connection?

When Bailey and Sam made it to their apartment, which the kids had fallen asleep on the ride home so their job of putting them to bed was a little easier tonight, they walked to their bedroom, and right as Bailey had closed the door, Sam spoke as he sat down on the end of their bed. "So, about this bait thing that you failed to mention to me?"

Knowing there was no way she was getting out of this conversation, she started to speak as she walked toward the end of the bed and sat down next to her husband. "Technically I did."

Sam shook his head. "No, I believe you told me that you helped solve a case."

"Which I did."

"But leaving out a very important piece to it."

Knowing he was right, she gave him a small guilty look before speaking softly while looking down at her hands. "I'm sorry, I know I should have told you all of it, are you really that upset?"

He sighed and placed his hands on top of hers before whispering. "It isn't about me being upset really, it just kind of freaked me out a little, you were seventeen and you voluntarily put yourself in that situation."

"I know, but I felt that I had to do something, if I hadn't he would have gotten away." Then she sighed and shook her head. "And now..."

She trailed off as he squeezed her hand in comfort. "He will be caught, babe."

She looked into his comforting eyes as she continued with tears in hers. "Yeah, but before he kills another woman? Or goes after my family, because I can't..." She shook her head as a tear left her eye and went down her cheek, so he cupped her cheek as she finished. "Because I can't lose any of you."

"You won't babe, you won't let that happen."

She couldn't help but smirk her next reply. "Aren't you suppose to say 'you' won't let it happen?"

He couldn't help but smirk back. "Well, you are the one with the gun, remember?" She gave him a slight smile with a chuckle and nod as he continued. "People outside of this family believe that I'm the protector, but we all know it's you that protects us."

She placed her hand over his that was still on her cheek, took it off and kissed his palm while looking at him before she cupped his clean-shaven cheek with her other hand and spoke with determination. "Until my dying breath."

He took a ragged breath before speaking softly. "Just make sure that doesn't happen for a very long time though."

She nodded as she leaned toward him. "You got it."

They met in the middle and kissed softly before they pulled back and placed their foreheads together.

"So, are we ok?"

He pulled back to look into her beautiful blue eyes with a smile. "Yeah, just as long as there isn't any life threatening activity I don't know about."

"You know everything else, I promise."

Then his eyes looked at her with passion, making her feel that spark that she only gets from him while he leaned towards her again with a whisper. "Then I guess there are no need for words right now."

"I guess not." She started to smile but was cut off when his lips touched hers, not that she was complaining though.

After a few passionate moments they pulled back and placed their foreheads together before he whispered one more time. "Love you."

She pulled back and placed her fingers to the button on his shirt before replying with passion in her eyes. "I love you too."

They smiled at one another before they leaned toward one another and started kissing again as she pushed his back toward the mattress of their bed.

* * *

Before Shift

"Of course Nicky, it shouldn't fall only on your shoulders, you and Catherine have done really well. Now why don't you two get some rest, you deserve it, I'll keep you informed on my end."

When she got to the lab she requested the files and tapes of any visitors to the prison where Tom was being held before he was transferred, but unfortunately he didn't have visitors during his time here so she was only going to be looking at the files, which were already on her desk, of people who could of had some type of contact with him.

"Alright, bye."

As she hung up there was knock on her office door, which use to be her husband's when he had worked here, so she looked toward it. "Come in."

The door opened a second later, and Sara smiled brightly at her oldest. "Hi Honey."

"Hi mo..." She trailed off when she say the small stack of files on her desk. "What's going on? What's up with the files?"

"Well, you know how I said that Nick thinks there is someone else involved?" Bailey nodded and Sara continued. "These are all the files of inmates that could of had some contact with Tom while he was here, Nick and Catherine can only do so much on their end, so I thought I would do my part, even though it might be a dead end all around, but I have to do something."

Bailey nodded in understanding as she walked toward one of chairs in front of the desk. "Then I'll help."

"Honey, wouldn't you rather be out working the crime scenes?"

Bailey shook her head. "If this guy is after my family and I did nothing, then you know how that would make me feel?" Sara knew exactly how that would feel since she would have felt the same thing. Bailey started speaking again after a sigh, breaking Sara from her thoughts. "Yeah, these parts of investigations aren't very fun, but it needs to be done, and besides, the more eyes on it the faster we can get through them."

Sara had to admit her daughter did have a point, so she nodded. "Ok, but only if you're really sure."

"I am, so first file, please."

Sara gave her daughter a small smile before grabbing the first file from the stack and handed it over to her.

* * *

30 minutes later

Sara closed the file with a sigh before looking at the clock on her desk and standing up, grabbing the assignment sheets in the process. "I have to pass out the assignments, you want to join and rest your eyes for a few minutes?"

Bailey sighed as she closed the file and stood up while nodding. "Yeah, and I might as well get some coffee while I'm at it too, it looks like it's going to be a long night."

Sara nodded in agreement before the two of them walked out of the office and headed to the break room, where the night shift team was waiting, excluding Lindsey since she will be out for a little bit longer.

The rest of the team, which consisted of assistant supervisor, Greg, CSI's Level 3 Morgan and Blake, and CSI level 2 Shannon Charles, a temp until Lindsey comes back to the lab, smiled at the women before Sara spoke after clearing her throat while Bailey headed for the counter to get some coffee. "Hi everybody, so something has come up, making Bailey and I having to do some business inside of the lab, so I hope you can handle the work load tonight."

Greg then asked with curiosity. "Does this have anything to do with why I got carded by two cops standing in front of the lab doors?"

Sara nodded. "Yes, and we're sorry about that but it's precaution."

Morgan gets in the conversation next. "For what?"

Instead of Sara answering that question, Bailey does, and when she was done, they all looked worried and even offered to help with looking at the inmate files, but Sara shook her head and explained. "Listen, as much as I would love to have all of you on this, this technically isn't our case, and I definitely don't want the higher ups on my back for neglecting on solving the crimes in this city, alright?"

Shannon nodded right away, but the rest of them paused before they nodded too while Greg spoke again. "Alright, you got it boss. But if you do need anything, you know I won't hesitate to help."

Sara smiled at her long time friend/co-worker. "I know Greg, and I really appreciate it." He smiled with a nod before she continued. " So, you guys ready?"

After they nodded, she handed out the assignment sheets, then once she was done and the team was out of the room, she had gotten a cup of coffee before her and Bailey headed back to her office so they could continue with their task.

* * *

5 hours later

After going through most of the files, where nothing really useful came up, they were coming down to the finale files when Sara heard Bailey say. "Oh, my."

Sara looked up from her file and asked with curiosity. "What is it Bay? Did you find something?"  
When Bailey looked at her mother it was almost like she had seen a ghost, which only got Sara's concern heightened. "Honey, what is..."

But she didn't get to finish because Bailey was already up and out of her seat before she rushed to and out of the room without a second glance.

As she was walking down the hall, close to jogging really, she was looking through the rooms, hoping the person she needed to talk to was in one of them, then she came to one of the rooms where someone who should know where the person she needed to talk was at. "Uncle Greg, have you seen Blake?"

Greg looked up from his piece of evidence at the sound of the young woman's voice. "I believe he's in the break room."

Bailey smiled with a nod. "Thanks."

Greg nodded and smiled back before he watched her speed walk down the hall, and he had to admit working with Bailey was still a little weird to him, not only because he still thinks of her as the little girl he had met years ago, but because when they worked on crime scenes together it was like working with/watching a mini Grissom and Sara rolled into one person.

But all of that weirdness aside, if there was anyone on this current team who he wanted to have his back, she would be at the top of his list because he knew, even though she didn't like carrying her gun to crime scenes, just like her father, she did have the top rank shooting rating, so every time they were working alone he knew he would be in good hands.

When Bailey made it to the break room, she sees Blake at the counter pouring some coffee, so she walked in immediately and started speaking. "When was the last time you've seen him."

Blake was startled a little so he jumped as he turned around before looking at her with confusion. "Who are you talking about?"

Bailey opened the file so he could see the name right away, Ross Gilmore, which got his eyes wide as he looked at Bailey. "You know when."

Looking at him in the eyes, she asked softly. "You sure?"

He cleared his throat and nodded as he walked past her to head to the conference table. "Of course."

Bailey sighed as she closed the file. "Alright, thanks."

Then she started walking towards the door, but stopped midway when Blake spoke again, almost in a guilty tone. "Almost three years ago." Bailey turned around and they looked at one another as he continued after a sigh while shaking his head. "I saw him at his parents funeral, and he didn't look good, he looked to have gotten himself into a very bad drug habit. He threw his life away."

When she saw him look down at his coffee mug, Bailey walked toward the table and sat down next to him before speaking in a comforting tone. "He did that himself, that isn't on you, you know that, don't you?"

Blake nodded with another sigh. "I do, but it's hard, you know, to see someone that you've known for 14 years make such a mess out of their lives after making one mistake, a major one, mind you, something I still can't stand that he did, but he didn't have to turn out like he did because of it."

Bailey nodded in agreement and understanding before she took a breath and asked, since she never had before. "Do you regret helping the police find him?"

Blake shook his head immediately and looked into her eyes so she could see his honesty. "He tried to hurt you, which in extension would have hurt Lindsey, and there was no way I could let that slide, so no, I felt I did the right thing that night and I still do, nothing is going to change that."

Bailey smiled with tears in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck, which surprised him a little but he hugged her back as she whispered. "If I never said it before, thank you for doing what you did Blake, I know it couldn't have been easy."

He shook his head as they pulled back. "To tell you truth it wasn't, I lost a very good friendship that night, but you know what?"

"What?"

He smiled as he placed his hand on top of hers. "I gained a bigger family that night, and after all these years they still have my back."

She patted his hand with her other one with a smile and nod. "And we always will."

A second later, and as they were removing their hands from each other, he asked after clearing his throat. "So, you think he might be the missing piece?"

Bailey sighed as she opened the file and shook her head. "He was there around the same time, but he was in a different section, and there isn't any notes saying that he had any conflict with him, but then again that doesn't mean they never crossed paths, it just means things didn't get violent between one another." Bailey sighed again as she closed the file. "I don't know, even if Ross is the missing piece, how would he have known Uncle Nick had moved?"

Blake gasped as he looked at Bailey. "I told him." Bailey looked at him wide-eyed as he continued. "Yeah, we didn't talk long, but he asked how everybody was doing. How he knew I was still involved with the family is beyond me, but I may have told him they had moved. I'm so..."

He was about to apologize when Bailey cupped his cheeks with both of her hands and smiled while he looked shocked at the action. "I could kiss you right now, but I don't think our significant others would like that very much, so all I can give you is a thank you."

Before she removed her hands from his face and grabbed the file from the table before rushing out of the room while Blake shook his head with a small smile, happy he could help her, but a little sad that his ex-best friend could have gotten involved in something he really shouldn't have.

Bailey had barley walked back into her mother's office when she spoke. "Ross Gilmore."

Sara looked up from the last file she had and asked with shock. "How do you know?"

Bailey held up the file in her hand and started walking to her mom's desk. "He was in the same prison for a bit and knew about them moving."

After Bailey told Sara what Blake said while Sara was looking over the file, Sara shook her head. "I don't know, he knew about Nick after Tom was transferred, and his own release."

"True, but that doesn't mean he didn't receive the information from him."

"Ok, but how? He didn't have any visitors?"

"But if Tom's a big deal as Uncle Nick has said, there are ways of getting it to him, and making Ross cooperate."

Sara nodded slowly. "Yeah, but..."

Bailey nodded with another sigh. "I know, the more we try to connect it, the more it feels like a stretch, but it doesn't..."

Sara cuts her daughter as she looked her in the eyes. "Change the fact that you feel in your gut he's somehow in involved?"

She nodded. "I do, and until I know for sure that he wasn't or isn't, it will still feel unresolved to me."

Sara nodded with a smile. "I feel the same way."

As Sara picked up her cell phone, Bailey chuckled. "I guess like mother like daughter." Sara chuckled then sighed, making Bailey lose her smile as she asked. "What's wrong, mom?"

"I just would hate to wake up Nick and Catherine, but they have the connection there."

Bailey placed her hand on her mother's shoulder. "I know, but the faster we can get all of this over with, the faster we'll feel safe living our lives."

"Good point, I'm sure they'll understand."

Bailey smiled with a nod and removed her hand as Sara took a breath before hitting the correct speed dial.

A few seconds later Nick's sleepy toned voice was heard. "Stokes."

"Hey Nicky, I'm sorry to wake you."

Nick cleared his throat as he sat up in bed before replying. "No, it's ok I understand, so did you find something?"

"Bailey and I think so. Ross Gilmore, we need to know if you can see if he's been in LA and San Diego."

After writing the familiar name down, he continued to speak. "I'll see what I can do. How are you guys doing?"

"We're fine, we just already want to get this unknown feeling to go away."

"I get it, and we'll do this as quickly as we can, you have my word."

"Thanks Nick, but you know the CSI rule about promises."

"Yeah, but this time I'll make an exception, no one messes with my family and gets away with it."

Feeling a little chocked up, Sara cleared her throat so she could speak again. "Thanks again Nick."

"No problem, you know I still have your back, it don't matter the distance."

"Same here."

"Alright, I better get on this and I'll call once I find something out, you guys be safe."

"We will, bye Nicky."

"Bye Sar."

After they hung up, Sara looked up at her daughter with a smile. "He's on it."

"Of course he is, you know how protective he is of this family, especially where you and dad are concerned. There is nothing he wouldn't do for you guys."

Sara nodded in agreement. "You're right."

Bailey smiled with a nod, then she cleared her throat and asked. "So, is there anything else we can do?"

"Not at the moment, so why don't you go see if anybody needs help?"

"You got it boss, call if anything comes up."

"I will."

After mother and daughter smiled at one another, Bailey turned and started walking toward the office door before walking out.

* * *

End of Shift

When Bailey returned to Sara's office hours later, she stopped in the doorway just as Sara was finishing her phone call. "Alright, Nicky, bye."

She ended the call and looked toward the door as Bailey walked in the room. "What's up?"

"Well, the good news is they got a hit, Ross was seen in San Diego."

Bailey sighed as he asked. "And the bad news?"

Sara also sighed. "It's been a week since his 'acquaintances' has seen him." Bailey nodded in understanding as Sara continued. "They are getting the media involved to see if there are any hits that way." When she saw the look Bailey was giving, she spoke again. "But you think they've already left town."

Bailey nodded, more confident on what was going on than when the turn of events first began. "I do, or at the very least Tom has, he didn't go through all this trouble just to go to San Diego and stay under a rock there, he just wanted Nick to know that he was out, it's a game to him, he's cocky like that." Sara nodded in agreement as Bailey continued. "But ultimately I am his target, he didn't use my name personally for no reason. He is now or will be in Vegas for one thing, and that's to finish what he started 11 years ago."

Even though Bailey was hiding her fear well, Sara knew her daughter very well, so she got up from her seat, walked to her daughter and cupped her cheek. "And we are doing everything we can to not let that happen."

Bailey nodded with a sigh. "I know, mom."

After one more second of a mother/daughter moment, Sara cleared her throat as she pulled her hand off her cheek before speaking. "You should get out of here and get some rest." Then she smiled a little. "Don't you have a sort of double date later?"

Bailey chuckled slightly with a nod. "That I do." Then she shook her head with a small sigh. "Megan going on a date? Man, where has the time gone?"

Sara chuckled as she walked toward her desk, and after standing behind it, she looked at her oldest and smirked. "I don't know, mother."

Bailey chuckled again with a nod. "I hear you." When she stopped laughing, she took a breath before continued. "I'll see you later, bye mom, love you."

She smiled warmly at her daughter as she sat down in her office chair. "Love you too, be safe out there."

Bailey nodded. "Will do, and you too."

After one more smile, Bailey turned and walked out of the office, shutting the door behind her.

When the door clicked shut, Sara sighed, letting a little worry creep in.

While it's true that she would do everything in her power to not let anything bad happen to her family, and have made steps in preventing anything like that happening, some times things do fall through the cracks, she just hopes they can get through this time with minimal damage.

As she started to sigh again, her phone started to ring, and with the set tone of it, she knew it was her husband, making her mood brighten slightly as she picked it up.

"Hi, Mr. Grissom."

Smiling on his end, he replied. "Hi, Mrs. Grissom, you up for some breakfast with your husband and kids?"

"Oh yes that would be heaven right now, I'll meet you at the usual place."

"Ok, love you."

"Love you too."

After they hung up, she places her phone at its normal place at her hip and started moving the files she didn't need to the side of the desk so she could deal with them later, closes the other files and puts them on the other side of her desk before getting up and leaving the office so she could spend a little time with some of her family.

* * *

AN: Hope it was ok. Find out what happens next. Please review.

*Ross Gilmore, if you don't remember, is in the 2nd Story in the Series, For Better or Worse.


	7. Quiet before the Strom

AN: Thanks for the reviews, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 7: Quiet before the Strom

Later that Afternoon

After Bailey arrived home after work, she had breakfast with the kids and husband before she went to sleep, and after sleeping her usual time, she got up and got ready before they headed over to Sara and Grissom's place with their bodyguard following.

Once they arrived at their house, and while grandma and grandpa was watching the grandkids, Megan left with Sam and Bailey and headed over to Kyle's place to meet his father and to pick the young man up, then after getting in the vehicle, Sam drove the foursome to the nearest ice cream shop.

When they arrived there, which the drive was pretty silent, they walked into the medium-sized building before Sam looked over at his wife with a smile. "Chocolate or Oreo today, sweetheart?"

Bailey smiled. "Oreo, please."

He nodded, and after picking up that sign from Sam, Kyle looked over at Megan and asked. "What would you like?"

"Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, please."

"Alright, you got it."

They smiled at one another before the guys walked toward the counter to get the ice cream while Bailey and Megan started discussing their seating arrangement so Megan and Kyle could have a little privacy but still giving Bailey a good view of them.

"Across the room." Megan asked.

Bailey shook her head. "One table away."

"Two?"

After a pause, Bailey nodded. "Alright, you win."

"Thank you."

Bailey just smiled as the guys walked over toward them with their treats before they walked toward the tables, and after Kyle and Megan sat down at the third table from the door, Sam and Bailey sat down two tables down from them.

They took a few bites of ice cream in silence before Megan took a breath and spoke while shyly looking at Kyle as she moved a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry that our plans got delayed, you have to know that in our family if things get delayed or cancelled it's for a very good reason, and it really..."

Kyle cuts off a rambling Megan, another nervous habit, one she got from her mother, with a smile. "It's ok, I understand, and considering there is a bodyguard following your family, I knew it wasn't just a line to blow me off."

Megan shook her head immediately. "Of course I wouldn't do that, I've been wantin..." She stopped herself before she said too much and smiled shyly again as she looked down at her bowl of ice cream. "Well, I'm glad because I was a little afraid that this wouldn't happen at all."

After swallowing a bite of his ice cream, Kyle asked with curiosity. "Why would you think that?"

She looked into his hazel eyes, shrugging her shoulders a little. "I don't know, I thought maybe you just asked me because of peer pressure or you might've just flat out changed your mind."

Kyle showed her his beautiful smile as he replied softly. "Now why would I do that to a girl who's had a crush on me the last two years?"

She looked at him with wide-eyes now. "You knew?"

He nodded. "I did."

"How come...How come you never said anything?"

He sighed before answering. "You were in the high school world, how could I could compete with that?"

Megan smiled while shaking her head. "My new freshman class never looked at me twice. Well, only when I answered every question right that the teacher threw my way. And even if they would have, I wasn't really that interested anyways."

They chuckled, then Kyle nervously moved his hand from the top of the table and placed it on top of hers, making both hearts pound as he finished in a sincere and honest tone. "Then I would have to say your freshman class, or the whole student body for that matter, isn't as smart as they think they are." Megan tried to hide her blush as he finished after clearing his throat. "And I would never have backed out on our date, no matter how long I had to wait for it, this wasn't some heat of the moment ask. I really wanted to go out with you because I've had a crush on you for awhile now too, and I couldn't wait any longer to ask you."

Megan was so happy to hear him say that that she didn't know what to say, so she just sat there with his hand still on top of hers as they just looked at one another with smiles and their eyes shinning.

Over at the other table, Sam smiled as he moved his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders as he spoke. "Oh, to be young again." He looked over at his wife and asked. "If you could go ba..."

Bailey cuts him off, knowing what he was going to ask, as she looked at him shaking her head. "I wouldn't want to go back to that time."

"Really?"

Bailey nodded with a slight smile. "You have to know that up until I was 15 I thought something was wrong with me." Sam was about to speak but Bailey continued after taking a breath as she looked down at her ice cream. "I mean think about it, if it wasn't for my constant answering questions in the classroom, joining the after school clubs, and the occasional 'hello's' from Blake, I might as well have been a ghost for the first two years of my high school education." Then she smiled as she looked at him, knowingly. "Then senior year happened and everything changed for me, I finally got to know what it felt like to have that special feeling for someone, that feeling that I've always heard about and wanted to experience myself." Then she sighed again and shook her head. "But because of the circumstances, it couldn't happen."

He cupped her cheek and ran his thumb up and down her cheek as he replied. "But we made it through that, we are happening now."

She took a breath and gave him a slight nod as she continued. "And even as I got older and went on dates until that happened, more times than not I felt like I was just going through the motions, going on dates so I didn't feel more like an outcast than I already did, because I already found my 'one' and was just waiting to be reunited with him again. So, to think about that time back then feels kind of lonely. Yeah, I had my family and friends, but a piece of me had felt missing, until." She moved her hand up to his cheek and cupped it as she finished with love in her eyes. "You came back into my life, that's when my life felt almost complete."

He smiled as he finished. "Our kids making it complete."

As they leaned toward each other, she whispered. "No doubt about that."

They kissed softly on the lips before putting their foreheads together for a few seconds, then they go back to eating their ice cream, and after a few seconds while thinking about her talking about her past, he looked over at his wife again and asked. "You still miss them?"

Knowing who he was talking about, Bailey nodded. "Of course, everyday. Don't get me wrong, I feel blessed, honored and grateful that I have my biological and extended family, but I also feel that my adoptive family is still apart of me. They helped shape who I am today."

He nodded in understanding as he asked. "In that case, I was thinking you should start telling our daughter about them, let her know that there was another family out there who loved you very much."

Bailey started to smile with a nod. "Yeah, maybe I should, thank you for that."

He smiled as he kissed her temple before pulling back and whispering. "No problem, anytime."

After one more smile and both showing that twinkle in their eyes for one another, they got back to finishing their ice cream in comfortable silence.

* * *

Once they left the ice cream shop, Sam drove the foursome back to Kyle's place to drop him off, and after the teenagers said goodbye to one another, the three of them headed back to the parents house.

When they arrived there, they got out of the vehicle and headed for the front door before walking in the house, where they saw their father finishing up a chess game with Ethan, while little Sarah was on her grandpa's lap, which she happily said hi to them the moment they walked through the door, and Sara was holding their little prince on the couch as Arthur was sitting next to them looking at a comic book.

As Sam was closing the front door, Megan hugged her sister before running upstairs with a smile on her face. Sam then walked to the couch and sat at the other end before Sara transferred little Sam into his arms, and while he was bringing his son close to his chest, Ethan asked his sister something as he moved one of his chess pieces. "So Sissy, how do you feel about some sibling bonding tonight?"

Bailey walks over to the chess board with a smile and kissed her daughter's head as she exclaimed she was helping grandpa, making them chuckle a little, before she looked at her youngest brother after Sam exclaimed he could drop them off sometime tomorrow, with a nod. "Ok, sure why not."

Ethan smiled as he moved one more piece and smiled at his dad. "'Checkmate' dad." Then he got up from his seat and ran upstairs as little Sarah looked at the chessboard with a pout. "Lose Grandpa?"

Grissom smiled as he kissed his granddaughter on the head. "I'm afraid so sweetheart, it seems I've created some little monsters."

It was becoming very difficult to win against his children on the chessboard these days, and the few times he does actually get a win, he believes they throw the game for his benefit. But he never asked if that was true and they never volunteered that information.

They chuckled while little Sarah turned around in her grandpa's arms and gave him a hug, making them say 'aww' as she said. "Love you anyways."

He held his granddaughter in his arms with a sigh of content as he replied. "Love you too sweetheart."

The family watched the scene as Bailey looked over toward the couch and asked Arthur. "You want to come over too?"

Arthur nodded with a smile as he got up from the couch before running up the stairs while Grissom says to him. "See if your sister wants to go too."

"Ok, dad."

When the kids were out of the room, Grissom stands up from the chair he was sitting in and hands little Sarah off to his oldest as he walks to the love seat, and as he sat down, he asked after clearing his throat. "So, is it a one and done outing?"

Bailey took a breath as she sat down next to her father and shook her head. "I'm afraid not dad, this one's going to be sticking around for a bit."

She saw the looks between the teenagers, and as scared as Megan was last night that this could have been her only shot, it was nowhere in sight by the time they had dropped off Kyle, there was a new look in her eyes.

Grissom sighed and shook his head. "You know it isn't really about the dating that's getting to me, because at the end of the day I do want her to meet other people, that's what help makes a person grow, it's just the fact that not all relationships are going to last forever or end in a nice package with a bow on top, and I'm just afraid that it's going to happen to her, and there is no more useless feeling than watching your child go through pain and you can't do anything about it, especially getting their heart broken."

He looked at his oldest with a little sadness as he remembered when she was heartbroken at 15, the rest of them nodded in agreement as Bailey placed her left hand on her father's arm. "And I know you felt that way when I was hurting, but I got through it, and if/when it happens to her, she'll get through it too."

He smiled a little as he cupped his daughter's cheek. "I always knew you would, mostly because of everything you had to go through by the time you were her age. But Megan's never went through anything near of what you had to endure."

Bailey sniffled with a nod. "Thank god for that, but she's also a Grissom, and I like to think of us as a strong bunch. She'll know when to lean on us when she needs it, but it's also something you need to let her go through."

Grissom nodded as he wiped a tear of his daughter's cheek, then cleared his throat to get the emotion out. "You're right, but I'll never stop wanting to protect her, or any of my kids for that matter."

Bailey shook her head. "And we never would want you stop, just maybe not over do it all the time."

Grissom nodded in understanding as he whispered. "I love you."

She leaned toward him and kissed his cheek before she placed her forehead against his. "I love you too, daddy."

Sara and Sam secretly wiped a few tears off their cheeks, watching moments between them were always so heartwarming. They always knew they had a very special bond, one they would never want to mess with, even if they could.

Their daughter/father moment was interrupted when they heard the kids running down the stairs with their overnight bags.

As Bailey was pulling back from her father, she cleared her throat and asked. "You guys ready?" After around of 'yeah's' were heard, she nodded as she stood up from the love seat with her daughter still in her arms. "Alright, say goodbye to mom and dad, and we'll leave."

After the boys walked over to their mother, they kissed her cheek and said their love yous before they walked over to their dad and did the same thing before walking toward the front door, stopping before going outside, then after Megan kissed her mother's cheek and they said their love yous, she walked to her dad and gave him a hug but they both felt it was a little uncomfortable, so as she was pulling back, but before she could speak, Grissom gave his youngest daughter a smile before cupping her cheek. "When things get back to normal, or as normal as this family can get." They all chuckled a little at that before he continued. "I'll gladly take you and..."

He trailed off, just realizing he didn't even know the young man's name, so Megan finished for him. "Kyle."

Grissom nodded. "You and Kyle to the movies."

Megan's eyes lit up. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Megan nodded as she gave her father another hug, this one feeling a little better between them as she whispered. "Love you, daddy."

He wrapped his arms around her as he whispered. "I love you too."

After they pulled back, she kissed his cheek before following her brothers and Sam out of the door, and after Bailey kissed her parents goodbye while exchanging their love yous, she walked out of the house, shutting the door behind her.

As the door clicked shut, Grissom sighed as Sara walked over to the love seat so she could sit next to her husband, then she placed her arm over his shoulders. "I'm very proud of you, that couldn't have been easy."

He sighed again as he took her free hand and slipped his fingers through hers as he looked over at her while shaking his head. "Bailey's right, I need to let Megan do this, I can't keep her, or the boys for that matter, in a box, I need to help them grow not hinder them."

As much as Sara wanted to keep the kids in a protective box too, she knew her husband was right so she nodded in agreement, making Grissom sigh for a third time as he moved closer to his wife so he could place his head on her shoulder, and after she turned her head and kissed his forehead, she spoke again. "And you were right too." As he moved his thumb back and forth on the top of her hand, she continued as she ran her fingers through his hair. "She'll eventually go through some heart breaking moments, but I believe that it will only make her stronger and make her feel that more rewarding when she finally finds the one she's meant to be with."

He nodded against her shoulder before replying after one more sigh. "But even then, you and I both know that it isn't a guarantee it will last forever."

She slipped her fingers out of his before cupping his cheek and running her thumb up and down it while he moved his eyes so they could have eye contact as she replied with emotion and love in her eyes. "And you and I both know that if it's worth fighting for, it could."

He smiled with a nod, knowing she was talking about them, then they moved toward one another and kissed, softly at first before it became a little passionate.

After they pulled back a little breathlessly, they put their foreheads together as she whispered. "Well, Mr. Grissom, it seems we have a whole house to ourselves, is there anything you can think of that we can do?"

He smiled as he whispered back. "Oh, I can think of a few things on the top of my head, but for the time-being can we just enjoy this quiet moment?"

She ran her fingers though the back his hair with her other hand as she nodded. "Of course."

As much as they love their children, grandchildren, and the other kids in their extended family, it's been a house full of kids for the last few days and they just wanted to take a few moments listening to the quietness.

* * *

AN: Alright, things are about to take a turn, how bumpy will things get? Find out soon. Please review.


	8. Taking a bad turn

AN: Thanks for the reviews, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 8: Taking a bad turn

4 days later

Desert Palms Hospital

Before 6:00 AM

The minute the middle-aged doctor saw the paramedic's rolling in a patient, he asked. "Who do we have?"

As they continued rolling the patient to the nearest room the paramedic explained that he had no ID, wasn't conscious when they were called, and that it was a possible drug overdose, he nodded as they got in the room before he started giving instructions to his head nurse, but when she paused as she looked at the victim/patient, he asked. "Is there a problem nurse?"

The young nurse shook her head. "No sir, I'm on it." As she continued with the doctor's instructions, she couldn't help but think there was something familiar about this man, but she couldn't remember why at the moment.

* * *

After Shift

A few hours later

Bailey stops her feet at the end point, breathing a little heavy as she looked back at her running partner, Jason Williams, who was a few steps behind, and smiled as she exclaimed. "I believe that's two beers you owe me now."

Jason Williams is Bailey's age, 5'10, with an athletic build, blond hair and brown eyes, who also happens to be a regular cop partner at her crime scenes. In fact, they had their first day on the job together and been friends ever since.

He smiled as he was trying to catch his breath, then after some light stretching, they started walking to the bench, where their water bottles and towels were at, as Jason started to speak. "I swear you are lying when you said you never competed in school."

Bailey chuckled while shaking her head as they sat down. "Which I'll keep swearing that until the cows come home. I just love running, I've always done it for fun, and I think by now you know it's just my competitive nature, it doesn't matter what I'm doing, I like to give it my all, and I don't like losing much."

Jason chuckled as he ran his towel through his short hair with a nod. "Very true, but you don't take losing as bad as a few other people I've seen/know."

Bailey nodded with a smile. "Also true." After they take a drink from their water, Bailey cleared her throat and started to speak again. "Now, tell me what's gotten you so distracted, because of the few times I do beat you, I've never won by more than a step."

Jason shook his head. "It's nothing."

"I don't by that, we've been regular partners and friends for five years now, I think I can tell when something is going on with you."

Acting like he didn't know that, he looked at her with shock. "Wow, has it really been five years now? Where has the time..."

But Bailey cuts him off. "Jason, what is it?"

Jason took another drink of his water while taking a breath before looking at her. "My captain, he says it has been four days and no trouble for you or your family have even been hinted at, and he also said that a gut feeling without any absolute proof, no matter who it is that had it, shouldn't have caused a protection detail to begin with, and that he only went along with it because you guys have friends in high places, so..."

Bailey knew where this was going, so she nodded as she cuts him off. "He wants to take the protection detail off of us."

She knew something like this was happening, considering yesterday their protection detail for the day consisted of rookies, one and two years, which they weren't bad, but she was just skeptical on how well they would have done had something serious came along.

Jason nodded before he spoke immediately. "But you have to know I don't feel that way at all, I've been through enough of your gut feelings to know that when you have them, more times than not you are right, so I know how serious this is, and if you want, I'll take some of my vacation time and camp at your door on my own time."

Bailey chuckled as she shook her head. "You would, wouldn't you?"

He smiled as he placed his hand on top of hers. "You know I would."

Bailey smile died down a little as she looked at his hand before looking into his eyes.

Out of all the guys she's met/dated through the years, there has only been three that ever had any type of affect on her, that was just the way it was with her, and considering the one she has the strongest for was very much her loving husband, the love of her life, she would never thought twice of acting on this one. She just couldn't see jeopardizing everything, it just wasn't worth it, no matter how attractive he was.

"Jas, I..."

Jason cuts her off as he took his hand off hers immediately. "I'm sorry, You know I would never jeopardize our friendship, or get in-between your marriage, I respect it, I respect you."

Bailey nodded with a slight smile. "I know you do, and that's why I know I can trust you with having my back."

Jason nodded with a smile, happy that awkward moment has past. "Absolutely, anytime."

Bailey then sighed. "And as much as I would love to take you up on your offer, I can't do that. You need that vacation time to visit your family back east. We'll figure something out, we have what, until Monday?"

Jason nodded as they stood up from the bench before they started walking to the parking lot, and just as they got to their vehicles, a member of Bailey's protection duty showed up, and the minute he got out of the car, Bailey mentally sighed, seeing it was another young one.

Jason saw his co-worker get out of the vehicle, and he kind of looked confused, so he shook the young man's hand and asked. "Where is Paul, Aaron?"

Aaron Walker was 24, 5'10, slightly over an average build with brown hair and brown eyes, had just started the force two weeks ago, and he was also a new dad.

Aaron released his hand while explaining. "The captain said he called in sick, so he called me in, is there a problem?"

Jason shook his head. "No, I just don't like it when the schedule gets messed up, but I guess getting sick can be an unavoidable thing some times."

Aaron nodded as Jason looks at Bailey. "Bailey this is Aaron Walker." Then he looked at Aaron again. "And Aaron this is Bailey Grissom-Miller." After they shook hands warmly, Jason started to speak again after clearing his throat. "Alright, I'm out, you'll be ok, Bailey?"

Bailey smiled with a nod as the two friends/co-workers hugged. "I'll be fine."

They pull back as Jason smiled. "Alright, call if you need anything."

"I will."

After one more shared smile, Jason gets into his vehicle and drives away, and after a slight smile between Aaron and Bailey, they get into their vehicles before Bailey makes her way home while Aaron followed her.

* * *

When they made to Bailey's apartment complex, they got out of the vehicles and started walking to and in the building, and once they got to her door on the third floor after getting out of the elevator, Bailey asked as she was unlocking it. "You something to drink?"

Aaron politely declined, so Bailey just nodded before she walked into the apartment, shutting the door behind her before heading to the bedroom so she could grab a change of clothes and take a shower.

The moment the apartment door had clicked shut, Aaron sighed and shook his head, not happy about being on this detail one bit. He was in the group that was siding with the captain on this one, but he wasn't going to complain out-loud, he was here to do a job and that's what he'll do. He sighed again as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and started playing a game, thinking if he was just going to stand here for the time-being, he might as well do something.

About 20 minutes later Aaron looks up from his phone when he heard a noise coming from around the corner that lead to the stairs, it sounded like some type of rubber ball hitting the wall, he frowned a little as he asked. "Hello, any one there?" When the noise was all he continued to hear, he cleared his throat and started walking toward it, but when he got there, the hall was empty.

He took a breath and shook his head before he turned back around so he could walk back toward the door, but after a few steps, he gets clocked in the side of the head with a butt of a gun, and after his prone body was slid so it was in the middle of the hall, a man wearing a police uniform stepped over Aaron and walked toward the apartment door he wanted before stopping in front of it with a smirk and an evil glint in his eye.

After all the planning, setting up and going about this city stealthy for the past three days, it was only a matter of time before he'll finally be reunited with the one that got away, the one that kept him up at night.

* * *

After Bailey was out of the shower and had put on some clothes, she brushed her hair and put it in a pony tail, then just as she was putting sandals on her feet, there was a knock on the door, so she headed toward it, thinking Aaron had changed his mind about wanting a drink.

Once she got to the door, she opened it while hearing 'Aaron' coughing, so she asked. "You want that drink now?" After he nodded while still coughing, she invited him in before heading to the refrigerator to get a water bottle.

When she got to the door 'Aaron' was inside with the door shut and his back was still toward her, so she cleared her and held out the water bottle toward him. "Here you go, this could help."

He coughed out a thank you as he turned around, this time with his head down, then as he lifted his head up he reached for her hand, and the moment his green eyes met her blue ones, which even though his build was a little more athletic looking than before and he now had a scare on his right cheek, she would never forget those eyes, so she gasped. "Tom!" As he tightened his hold on her hand so she couldn't go anywhere.

After a little struggle, making the water bottle roll under the glass coffee table, Tom had managed to pin Bailey up against the door with her back toward him. He then smelled her clean hair and took a breath before speaking. "Do you know how long I've waited for this moment? How much time I spent fantasying how it would be to see you again? I can't wait to show you what a true man feels like."

Even the hold on her was still pretty tight, she still continued to struggle as she spoke in a hard tone. "You don't know the first thing about being a man."

He laughed. "You'll be singing a different tune by the time I get done with you, I'll take you farther than your precious husband has ever done."

"Not a chance."

"Oh, that sounds like a challenge, you know how much I love challenges."

Still trying to struggle, she makes an objective noise before replying with a sarcastic tone. "Yeah, coming from the man who had to drug his victims."

"Well, not this time, you are going to feel every minute of it." There was a slight pause before he spoke again. "What, no comeback this time?"

She was going to speak again, continuing her hard attitude while not letting him to get to her, but there was one thing that would change everything in this moment, which was her sole reason she had stopped talking, and that was hearing her husband's voice and daughter's laugh out in the hall, who had been out grocery shopping before it got too hot out there.

She also tried to stop the tense feeling from coming, but couldn't as her family got closer to the door, and when Tom had felt the tense feeling in her and heard the voices get closer to the door, he smiled before he started speaking. "Oh, the family is home, why not make this a family affair?"

In that moment she felt more venerable than when he first showed up and pinned her against the door, and she started to have tears in her eyes while using a tone that could only describe as a pleading one. "Please, don't involve them, they are innocent in all of this, you have what want, I'll do or go anywhere with you, just please don't harm them."

There was a slight pause before he moved closer to her ear and whispered in a threatening tone as he put pressure on her arm that was behind her back, making her wince in a little pain. "One wrong move, or code-word and I swear to god there will be a few less family members going to grandma's and grandpa's house for the holidays, and you'll witness it all."

She nodded and sniffled, knowing she was only doing this for the safety of her family, that's the only thing that mattered to her right now. "Ok, you have my word, I won't try anything."

He released his hold on her and stepped back while she composed herself just as the door started opening, then she smiled the minute she saw them as Sarah smiled bigger and ran to her mother. "Mommy!"

Bailey picked her up and said. "Hi baby girl."

Sarah then noticed someone else in the room, but she didn't like the feeling she got looking at him, but instead of saying anything since she noticed the cop uniform, she just wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and held her tight as she moved closer to her, if that was even possible as Sam also noticed someone in the room, but like his daughter, he just saw the police outfit and looked at his wife, giving her a smile. "Everything ok?"

Knowing what was at stake, she kept her cool and nodded while clearing her throat before speaking. "Yeah, but I need to go out for a bit, run a few errands."

"Oh, well I could do it while you hang out with the kids and rest."

Bailey shook her head as she stepped toward their son's stroller. "No it's ok, I should do it."

"Alright."

As Bailey kneeled down to let her daughter go, Little Sarah smiled and asked. "Mommy, I come?"

Bailey cupped her daughter's cheek, trying to hold on to her tears, and shook her head. "I'm sorry sweetie, but not this time, you be a big girl and continue to help out daddy, ok?"

She was a little disappointed that she didn't get to go, but nodded. "Ok, mommy."

"I love you."

"Love you too."

Mother and daughter hugged one another then pulled back before she placed her hand on her son's stomach. "Love you too, buddy, so much."

She stood up a few seconds later after kissing his head and took a step toward her husband, staring at him so she could put his face into her memory bank; not that he wasn't already there, but if this was the last time she'll see him, which she hoped with all of her might it isn't, then she wants to look at him for as long as possible.

When she was finally standing in front of him, she cupped his cheek as Tom moved so he was now standing behind Sam's shoulder, showing Bailey his gun, as she gave her husband a smile, the best real one she could. "And I love you, always remember that."

"I always will, and I love you too, you're ok, right?"

"Fine."

He gave her a look when she said those words, but didn't get to say anything because she had given him a soft kiss, making Tom clear his throat at that action.

After they pulled back, she shared one more long look with her husband and kids before she headed towards the door, grabbing her purse from the table by the door and walking out while Tom followed her out as Sam turned and watched the door click shut with a weird feeling in his gut that something was off.

Before he could stand there and analyze what felt so wrong, the youngest one started to get a little fussy, so he smiled as he looked down at the stroller. "Alright buddy, I know you need changed, I'll be with you in a second."

After dropping off the grocery bag he had in his arms, he pushed the stroller toward the nursery while his daughter started pulling out some of her toys from the toy box in the living room.

* * *

Once their son was changed and in his crib, Sam headed for the bedroom so he could change his shirt, and as he was walking toward the dresser while removing the top two buttons on his shirt he see's his wife's car keys on top of the dresser, which at first he didn't know how to feel about that because the cop was with her and she could have gotten a ride with him to do the errands, but then again he knew she loved driving herself to places, she was the main driver about 95% of the time when they would go out as a family.

Sam sighed and shook his head, partly feeling he was reading too much into this, but then he looked in the mirror and saw a pair of her shoes on the floor by her side of the bed, and that got him thinking of seeing her in sandals when she walked out of the door, which wouldn't have been such a big deal if they were going to the lake or just over to Lindsey's place or her parents place, but when it was errands, work and important tasks outside of their apartment, she would be wearing shoes.

His heart started to race as the gut feeling in his stomach tightened, but before he did anything too rash, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit speed dial number 1, needing to make sure there was a reasonable explanation for what he was seeing, and if she called him a worried-wart for nothing, they'll just laugh it off, but it was something he needed to do so he could relax a little more, especially at a time like this.

But the minute he heard her cell phone ringing from the living room, it did nothing to ease that feeling whatsoever because he knew under no circumstances she would've left the apartment without her phone. She would have even turned around and walked back into the apartment and grabbed it if she knew she forgot it, especially when him and the kids weren't with her since she liked to be in contact just incase there was an emergency.

He ran out of the bedroom and headed toward the coffee table, where her phone was sitting, and as he bent down and picked it up he saw the water bottle on the floor under the table and asked. "Honey, did you put that water bottle there?"

Sarah looked up from her toys and chuckled, thinking it was funny. "No, I think mommy did, funny huh?"

And if he didn't get it now, which he wasn't dumb by any means, the last clue that something was very wrong hit him like a tone of bricks, and that was the last word she had said to him, 'Fine'.

Now, if anybody knew the Sidle/Grissom clan, that word in the right context, practically coming from Sara and Bailey, knew it meant the opposite on what they were feeling.

He was frozen for a second as everything started pilling up in his head, then him and his daughter heard a scream coming from the hall, which made them jump a little before Sam walked over to his daughter and kneeled down before speaking in a comforting tone as he was cupping her cheek with his left hand. "Now sweetie, can you do something for me? It is very important." She nodded, understanding his instructions were very serious, before he continued. "Go into your brother's room, shut and lock the door, and don't open it until I tell you to, ok?"

"Ok daddy."

Sam smiled as he kissed her cheek. "That's my brave girl."

She smiled as she pulled from his arms, and after getting her baby doll from the floor, she ran to her brother's room and did what her father had asked.

Sam stood up a second later, rushed out of the apartment and headed toward the scream, which was around the corner, before seeing the cop, Aaron, still on the floor as the woman who had screamed was now on the phone with the police.

As he stood there looking at scene in front of him, he started to get a little dizzy as the overwhelming feeling of his wife missing kept hitting him, so he placed his hand on the wall to keep himself standing and closed his eyes, hoping with all of his might that today wasn't the last day he'll see her alive.

* * *

Desert Palms Hospital

(40 Minutes later)

The nurse from earlier sighed as she sat down in the break room.

After a hard few hours, she was thankful for a break, then she checked her phone and saw that her cousin, who lives in Los Angeles, had sent her a text message asking if she had seen the news report she had sent her earlier, she then gasped as that report came to her, making her finally remember why that guy looked familiar, before getting up from the chair she had just sat down at and rushed out of the room.

When she found who she was looking for, she said. "Doctor Rhodes, Doctor."

The middle aged doctor stopped walking and looked over at the young nurse and asked. "What is it Nurse Manning?"

After catching her breath, she held out her phone once she got the news report ready to play, and started to speak. "I remember why that patient who came in this morning looked a little familiar."

Once he saw the report and saw the second possible suspect they were looking for, Doctor Rhodes pulled out his phone immediately, dialed a number of a friend and placed it up to his ear before listening to the person he called answer. "Sara, I believe we have a Mr. Ross Gilmore here at the hospital, will do, you're welcome, bye."

Doctor Rhodes hung up and looked at Nurse Manning and smiled. "Good job nurse Manning, it could have been a few more hours before we had an ID."

She smiled back. "Just doing my job, Sir."

After he nodded, he started walking away, while she took a breath and started walking toward the break room, hoping she helped in anyway on what's going on.

* * *

AN:Uh ooo, will she be found in time? Will Ross be any help? Find out what happens next. Please Review.


	9. Waiting Game Now

AN: Warning: A questionable word or Two. Thank you for the reviews, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 9: Waiting Game Now

(5 minutes before the Doctor's phone Call)

The minute the vehicle was stopped in a parking spot, the driver takes her keys out of the ignition, gets out, slams the door shut before running toward and in the apartment building, and once the elevator stopped at the third floor, she rushes out and heads to the correct apartment, where the door was opened and a few cops were walking in and out of the apartment.

She started shaking her head with tears in her eyes, stopping in the opened doorway, seeing Sam talking to Jason in the kitchen while Grissom, Blake and Lindsey were on the couch looking devastated, which only made her tears come down her cheek more. "No, tell me this isn't true."

The minute she heard what happened she left the lab, even though she was in the middle of her double shift. Thankfully Greg and Morgan was there to cover for her. But even if they weren't, there was nothing that was going to keep her from coming here, this was her daughter.

Grissom looked towards the door after hearing his wife, so he stands up, but as he was walking up to her, she walked in the room and headed towards Sam, speaking in an angry tone. "How could you let this happen! You are her husband, you should have been protecting her."

Sam looked at his mother-in law, completely devastated as he started to speak in an apologetic tone, knowing she was right, he should have protected her better. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"How could you not know!?"

"He was wearing a cop uniform, I thought he was her protection detail."

Sara then looked at Jason with hard eyes. "Where the hell was her protection detail!?"

Jason took a breath before speaking. "He was clocked in the back of the head, he was out cold for while, so they took him to the hospital to get checked out."

Sara sniffled as she turned to look at her husband, who was now standing in front of her, both of them looking devastated as she shook her head. "This shouldn't have happened."

Grissom cupped his wife's cheek as Jason walked up to the night shift supervisor. "You're right Mrs. Grissom, it shouldn't have. I should have been the one protecting her."

Sam gets a hard look in his eyes as he asked. "What's that suppose to mean? You saying she wouldn't have been taken if you were here instead of me?"

Sam wasn't blind, he could tell that Jason had feelings for his wife, but he trusted her enough that he never mentioned it or asked her to stop hanging out with him outside of work. Plus, he would never do that, he was never that guy and never wanted to become that guy.

Jason looked at Sam and shook his head. "That's not what I'm saying at all, I'm just saying I'm the one that should have been here for her protection detail, I should have went with my gut when I felt something bad today." Then he paused, and he just couldn't help his last comment because sometimes his mouth does get him into trouble. "But now that you mentioned it, maybe, yeah."

"Oh you..."

He trails off as he was walking up to him, but Grissom stepped in front of the guys and placed his hands out to stop their next move and spoke in a no nonsense tone. "Enough guys! This isn't helping. I understand this is a stressful time but turning on each other and blaming one another isn't going to help get Bailey back, and that's what we need to be concentrating on, go it?"

He looked at Jason first, and he nodded while taking a breath. "Yes, Dr. Grissom, I'm sorry."

Grissom nodded at him before looking at Sam, who was having a tough time holding onto his emotions as he nodded and sniffled. "Yes, I'm sorry." He sniffled again as he finished. "I just want my wife back safely."

Grissom turned to his son-in law and cupped his cheek before speaking in a comforting tone, obviously feeling the same way he was. "And you will, we have the best CSI's in town."

He just nodded, hoping he was right, which he would have never questioned it before, but now he wasn't so sure.

As Grissom was taking his hand off Sam's cheek, Sara started to speak as she was wiping a few tears off her cheek. "Do we have anything that will help on their location?"

Jason cleared his throat, and just as he shook his head, Sara's phone started to ring, so she cleared her throat and took her phone out of the clip before answering. "Grissom...don't let him out of your sight...thank you for the call...I'll see you in a few, bye." After she hung up she looked toward her husband. "That was Dr. Rhodes from the hospital, he believes Ross Gilmore is a patient there."

Jason nodded and spoke as he headed for the door. "I'm on it."

Sara gave Grissom a look and started to speak. "I..."

But Grissom cuts her off as he walked up to her. "Go."

Feeling torn on staying for the other kids, knowing they must be freaking out right now, or leaving to get answers that will hopefully lead to their oldest, she started saying. "The ki..."

But once again he cuts her off as he cupped her cheek. "I got them, go get our oldest back."

As much as he wanted to go with her, he knew he wasn't a CSI anymore and needed to let them do their job. Plus, he knew he needed to be there for the other kids.

She nodded with a small smile and determination in her eyes. "You got it. Love you."

He ran his thumb up and down her cheek as he nodded. "I love you too. Be Safe."

"Always."

After one more long look at one another, they share a small peck on the lips before she turned and walked out of the apartment as Lindsey looked at her husband. "You should go too."

He shook his head. "No, you ne..."

She cuts him off as she took his hand. "He was your best friend for a long time, and I know you want to get your answers. Heck, I need to you get me some answers, please."

He cupped her cheek with a nod. "Ok, but only because you asked me to. I love you."

"Love you too."

They share a small kiss before he stood up from the couch and looked at Sam, who also looked torn on leaving or staying. "You coming, man?"

"I..."

But Grissom cuts him off. "Go Sam, we got the kids."

"Ok, thank you."

"You're welcome."

After he nodded, Blake and Sam left the apartment, leaving Grissom and Lindsey in the living room while the kids were in Sarah's room.

When Lindsey started to sniffle as she looked down at her hands, Grissom walked over to her and sat down next to her before he wrapped his arm around her daughter's best friend/practically niece, and whispered. "You know Bailey, Lindsey, she's not going down without a fight, that's who she is, a fighter."

Lindsey nods as she sniffled then smirked. "And she knows how to use that smart aleck attitude to her advantage."

He chuckled with a nod. "That she does."

After one more sniffle, Lindsey spoke again. "Uncle Gil."

"Yes, Lindsey."

She turned her head to look at him as she continued. "Your family has always made me feel like I was apart of it, so if I can't have my mom here right now, I'm glad you're here with me."

Grissom smiled warmly at the young girl. "And you always will have a place in our family."

Lindsey just smiled and laid her head on his shoulder as Grissom kissed the top of her head, both soaking up what little comfort they could give.

* * *

Once the foursome made it to the hospital, they got the attention to one of the nurses so she could let Doctor Rhodes know that they were there to speak to him, and not even five minutes later they see Doctor Rhodes walking their way, so they all stood up and started speaking the minute he was close enough, but he raised his hand up to stop them all and spoke when they stopped talking. "I should let you know that he was found unconscious with a drug overdose."

Sara asked with curiosity and hope that this possible lead, only lead really, wasn't going to slip through their fingers. "Is he going to make it?"

Doctor Rhodes nodded as he looked over at Sara. "He was lucky we got to him in time, so yes we are expecting him to make a full recovery." When he noticed the relief in their eyes, which he would bet because of the reason they needed to talk to him more than anything else, he continued. "He is out for the moment, but he should be up soon."

They nodded as Jason asked after clearing his throat. "Do you know if he did it himself, or had a little help?"

Before the doctor could speak, Blake did as he looked over at the detective, not sure why he was even defending his ex-best friend but he couldn't stop the words from coming out. "Of course he had help, he wouldn't have done it himself."

Jason raised an eyebrow at him while asking. "How can you be sure? He's been killing himself slowly when he started the little drug problem, what if he thought it was time to do himself in a little quicker."

"You don't know him, he wouldn't do it."

Jason then shot back. "Yeah, is that what you told the police when they were looking for him after attacking your wife's best friend?"

He was going to walk up to him, but this time Sam had the clear head and stopped in the middle of the guys as Blake shot back. "I don't have to explain anything to you, but for the record I'm the one that told the police where he was, I blew up a 14 year friendship that night, so maybe you should get your facts straight before you say something stupid."

Jason looked ashamed at his attitude and sympathy toward the other man. "I'm sorry man, I uh, I didn't know."

Blake took a breath and shook his head as he stepped back, and Doctor Rhodes cleared his throat to get their attention and break the tension before speaking again. "I'm sorry detective, but we don't know at the moment if it was an attempted suicide or homicide, and we won't know more until he wakes up. But I do have the name and number of the people who found him, maybe you could get some answers from them?"

Jason nodded. "I would like that."

"Of course."

Jason looked at Sara, and she nodded. "Go ahead, run with it." Jason nodded but before him and the doctor walked away, Sara looked at the older man and held out his hand to him. "Thank you for the help, Rich."

Doctor Rhodes smiled with a nod as he shook Sara's hand. "You're welcome, but you should also thank Nurse Manning, she's the one that brought it to my attention."

"I'll see to that."

As they released hands, Doctor Rhodes nodded before him and Jason walked away, then when they were out of sight, she looked at her son-in law and Blake before speaking, knowing their next move before they even told her. "Call me when you find out something, I'm going to head to the lab to see if we can get a hit with the surveillance." While the guys nodded, Sara continued. "And guys..."

But they cut her off as Blake spoke while shaking his head. "We know, I'm sorry, this is not the time to be going after one another."

Sara nodded. "Thank you."

After they nodded back, Sara turned and walked out of the hospital so she could go back to the lab, needing to do something so she could try to be useful.

When it was just the guys, Sam started to speak as they sat back down in the chairs. "You really think he wouldn't do this himself?"

Blake shook his head. "No, man. I can't see that happening." Then he sighed as he looked down at his hands. "But then again I never would have thought he'd attack Bailey either, so what does that make me?"

Sam put a comforting hand on the young man that was practically his brother-in law. "You trusted him, and he's the one that broke it, he's the one that did the wrong thing, not you. And I know without a single doubt that you would have done something if you had known what he was going to do because I could tell that you cared about her, even back then."

He looked at Sam and explained quickly. "You have to know it was never a romantic type of caring." Sam smiled and nodded as Blake continued. "She was just the youngest in my class and I could see my younger sister in her, so I felt I had to watch her back."

"And you did a great job, she told me one time that she had always felt safe the first two years of her high school education, when she didn't really know the other students, and it was because of you since she knew you had her back."

As Sam took his hand off the younger man, Blake sighed again and shook his head. "And now I've failed her at a time she needed it the most."

Sam shook his head and sighed before looking down at his hands. "No, man, I did that. It was my job to protect her and I just let her go, he was right there in front of me." Then he balled his hands into a fist as he finished in a angry tone. "And I just let that bastard take my wife." Trying to control his anger, he took a breath and finished. "And what I don't understand is how can she just walk out with him like that, knowing how dangerous he is."

There wasn't a pause in Blake's response. "I can understand why." Sam and Blake have eye contact as Blake continued with a slight smile. "If she knew that you and the kids were in trouble she wouldn't hesitate a second to protect you guys, she just wouldn't. Outside of her parents, siblings, and Lindsey, you three are her whole world, she would make a deal with the devil to keep you guys safe."

"Which as far as I'm concerned she did."

"Yeah, I can't argue that. And I know how easy it would be to lose hope at a time like this, but my money is still on her because now there isn't anything she won't do to get back to you guys."

Sam nodded with a slight smile. "You're right." As Blake nodded, Sam continued. "I just hope that we get a little help getting to her quicker, just to be on the safe side."

Blake nodded again in agreement. "Me too, man. Me too."

They both sat there as it became silent between them, only the sound of the activity from the hospital was heard, hoping this waiting with be worth their time.

* * *

AN: Will they get the information they need, and if they do, will it be in time? There is also a little twist at the end. Please review.

*I'm kind of fighting a cold right now, so I'll get the next chapter to you as soon as I can.*


	10. Unexpected Twist

AN: Thank you for the reviews and patience, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 10: Unexpected Twist

An hour and a half later

After moving the kids back over to the Grissom residence, and while they were upstairs, including Lindsey, Elliot and Blake Jr., Grissom was sitting on the couch doing a crossword puzzle so he could get his mind on something other than the feeling of worry and loss. But after 15 minutes of looking at the same clue, he tosses the puzzle, his glasses and pen down on the end table and got up from the couch before walking over to the mantel, where some of their best/favorite pictures of the kids were sitting at, and picked up the picture that was taken of him and Bailey when they were sharing their first father/daughter dance at her wedding.  
He then smiled slightly as he ran a finger over his sweet girl's smiling face before looking over at the corner of the room, where he sees the chess board sitting, so he sets the picture back down before walking toward it and stopping while he looked down at the pieces.

It was still set up from the other night when him and Bailey were playing against one another. They knew that if they didn't stop when they had then it would be a long night, and considering she had to go to go work, playing all night with her father wouldn't have been an acceptable excuse on missing work, so they promised one another they would finish the game another time.

He looked over the board before picking up her king, and as he looked at the chair she would normally be sitting at, he smiled slightly again as his mind takes him back to a very special night.

It was the first night she had stayed with him, the night he had taught her how to play chess for the first time, the night their deep bond had started, and the night he felt he could tell her anything.

 _Flashback_

 _16 years ago_

 _"You want to watch some TV? We can put it on the discovery channel, or something in that nature."_

 _Bailey smiled, appreciative of the offer, but wasn't in the mood, so she shook her head. "I don't really feel like watching TV."_

 _Grissom nodded in understanding, then he thought of something else a second later. "How about a game of chess, you play?"_

 _Bailey looked over toward the game before looking at him a little sheepishly. "I've never played before."_

 _Grissom smiled as he started walking toward the game. "Well, no time like the present to learn. How about I teach you?" He stopped once he got there before turning around to look at her, waiting patiently for her answer._

 _She paused for a second before nodding with a smile. "Ok. I'll give it a try." Grissom smiled a little bigger in return as Bailey walked over to the other chair._

 _After they were seated across from one another, he started explaining the rules, how each piece is moved, and how to win the game as Bailey hung on to his every word._

 _Once he thoroughly went through everything, they were ready to play, and for the first couple of moves they were made in silence, then Bailey broke it after clearing her throat. "Did you ever think of having kids?" She had no idea where that question came from, but she didn't regret asking it._

 _The question took Grissom by surprise a little, but he recovered well. "Honestly, before finding out about you, I hadn't really given it much thought."_

 _After moving her piece, she looked at him again. "Can I ask why?"_

 _Grissom had to mentally smile, because her asking questions reminded him of so much of Sara, then he cleared his throat while moving one of his pieces before answering. "There are a few reasons. One, for as long as I can remember I've always been more into my studies and work, so a personal life just never seemed to fit, which is kind of hard to have kids when you don't have much of one to begin with, so thoughts about it never really crossed my mind."_

 _He was about to continue when Bailey had taken her turn as she replied softly. "Oh, I see."_

 _Grissom got the sense that answer wasn't what she was looking for, so he spoke in a comforting tone that was completely honest. "But had I known about you, Bailey. I would have found a way to make it work, nothing would have kept me from you."_

 _Bailey looked at him quickly with a small smile forming on her lips while willing her tears to stay in her eyes. "Really?"_

 _Grissom smiled with a nod. "Of course, you are my daughter, and nothing should be more important than finding a way to be there for your child anyway that you can." Bailey smiled again with a nod, happy about that answer._

 _They both felt a little emotion wanted to come out, but they bypassed it before it could, and after a few chess moves, Bailey speaks again. "So what was another reason, you said there were a few."_

 _"That I did." But before he answered, he asked. "Can I ask you question first?"_

 _"Sure."_

 _He paused to take his turn first. "Have you had any problems with your ears?"_

 _Although she was confused on why he asked that, she did answer. "I had a few earaches when I was younger." Grissom was afraid of that, but was a little relieved when she finished. "But nothing too serious, and I hadn't had one since I was about six." She took her turn as she asked. "Why?"_

 _After thinking about his turn and then making his move, he took a breath and looked at her again. "Have you ever heard of Otosclerosis?"_

 _Bailey shook her head. "No."_

 _Grissom couldn't help his next comment after her answer. "You mean to tell me, you don't know everything?" Which she gave him a look that said she wasn't amused, a look he's seen on Sara's face a few times, so he mentally smiled as he cleared his throat before explaining. "Well, it's a genetic disorder that causes deafness, my mom has it."_

 _After mentally putting the puzzle pieces together in her head, she spoke again. "You are afraid that you would pass down the same thing to your child?" He mentally thought, and not for the first time, 'she's good', then nodded his head before she continued. "So you are afraid of getting a less than 'perfect' child."_

 _Grissom shook his head immediately. "It isn't that. As you already know, life can get pretty hard, and I didn't want to add the burden of making it harder by passing down something that will be a part of them, and the next generation after that, and so forth."_

 _Bailey could see the logic in that, but then she spoke after taking another turn. "But your mom lives with it, and I think her being happy with you overrode all the 'what if' questions."_

 _After taking his turn, he looked at her with a little smirk. "And how do you know that?"_

 _Bailey smiled a little bigger. "Because my mom..."Then she loses her smile and continued. "I mean..." She knew Sara was fine with calling her 'parents' mom and dad, but she wasn't sure how Grissom would feel about it._

 _But Grissom relieves her when he cuts her off in understanding. "Bailey, Sara and I both understand that you had other parents, you can call them your mom and dad for as long as you want."_

 _Bailey nodded before she finished what she was going to say. "Because my mom said that as happy as she was marrying my dad, she was at her absolute happiest the day I was placed in her arms, and I think that your mom was at her happiest when you were placed in her arms."_

 _This time a little emotion did come out as he replied. "I like to think you are right."_

 _Bailey smiled, then after a few turns back and forth in silence, she continued. "Besides, it looks like you didn't have to go through with what she did, so there really isn't an advanced way to know which generation would get it passed down to." Bailey saw Grissom pause on his next move, so she frowned a little. "Did I say something wrong?"_

 _Grissom cleared his throat as he shook his head. "No, you didn't say anything wrong."_

 _"But it was something I said?" Grissom does a short nod, so she spoke again. "I maybe only twelve, but you can trust me to keep whatever you say between us."_

 _As Grissom looked into the caring eyes of his daughter, he replied with a smile. "I'm beginning to see that." Then he smirked. "And are you sure you're twelve?"_

 _She chuckled, which hadn't happened that much since she was in either of their care, and it was wonderful to hear, then she nodded. "Last time I checked, yeah."_

 _Grissom smiled in return, then spoke again after another move on the chessboard. "I almost did go deaf, but I had surgery to correct it two years ago."_

 _"I see, and did anybody know?"_

 _Grissom shook his head as they each made another move. "Within the team, Catherine was the only one I knew who knew, and that was only because she needed to take the reins of the lab while I was out."_

 _"You didn't even tell Sara?"_

 _His response was immediate, like she was crazy to even suggest such a thing. "Especially Sara!" Then he toned it down and shook his head before she could reply. "I mean no, not even her."_

 _'Why' was on the tip of Bailey's tongue, but she had a strong feeling that they were teetering on the edge of a subject he wasn't very comfortable talking about, which after really getting to know Sara a few days, she noticed talking about him was a tough subject for her too, and she didn't want to ruin the comfort level between them right now._

 _Besides, she could probably guess why he wouldn't want to say anything to her, so she stopped herself from asking 'Why' and instead, said. "Thank you for telling me. Like I said, what you said will stay between us, unless you decide you want to tell somebody else."_

 _Grissom could see Bailey was curious on why he wouldn't tell Sara, but was relieved when she dropped it, so he nodded. "You're welcome, and thank you. Sharing isn't a forte of mine."_

 _She smiled as she looked at the chessboard before looking at him. "I kind of got that, but you can tell me anything, and I'll listen and not judge you." Grissom smiled as Bailey continued. "And you know what else?"_

 _Grissom raised an eyebrow. "What?"_

 _She looked at the chessboard again, grabbed her chess piece and sat it down in the right spot so her goal was complete as she replied. "I believe I get to say 'checkmate' now."_

 _Grissom looked at the board, seeing she was right, then he looked at Bailey again. "Congratulations."_

 _Bailey had a satisfied smile on her face as she replied. "Thank you. Not bad for my first time, if I say so myself."_

 _Grissom shook his head with a smirk as he was putting his pieces back in place. "Nope, not bad at all."_

 _Bailey saw the smirk and heard the tone, so she exclaimed. "Wait! You let me win, didn't you?" He shrugged as he continued his task while he tried not to laugh, then she sighed dramatically. "Uhhh, no fair!"_

 _"What do you mean no fair? You won."_

 _She shook her head. "No, you gave it to me, there is a difference. Now we have to play again."_

 _Grissom stopped what he was doing as he saw a competitiveness and a determination in her eyes while she was setting her pieces back in place, another thing he saw in Sara lots of times during a case, and something he'd always admired in her._

 _Now he can admire that trait in his daughter too._

 _End of Flashback_

He closed his eyes as he tightened the king in his hand while that memory continued to flow through him. Then a few seconds later all that built up anger that he kept inside the minute he heard what happened to his daughter so he could be strong for everybody else came through him as he opened his eyes before he grabbed the chessboard and tossed it across the room, making the chess pieces fly everywhere, before he placed his hand on the now empty small table as he sat down in his chair, leaned his head down, and did something he hadn't done in quite some time, which was praying, for the safe return of his oldest daughter.

A few seconds later, he hears a cautious voice. "Daddy?"

Grissom looked up sniffling a little as he sees his youngest daughter standing on the living room floor in front of the stairs. "I'm sorry, honey, I didn't mean..."

Megan ran to her father and wrapped her arms around his neck, making him hold her tight. "It's ok, daddy, I understand."

Out of all the times Megan has heard her father get mad, it was never at this level, so hearing the commotion downstairs from her room, where she was alone, she knew her father needed someone to give him a hug.

Now she wasn't nowhere near the comforter of the family, it was usually Bailey or her mother, but with neither one there, she wanted to do as much as she could to help him, even though the only time she knew he would be ok, all of them really, is when the family will be whole again.

As father and daughter held one another, he kissed her head and whispered. "I love you, sweetie, you know that, right?"

Megan sniffled with a nod. "I do, and I love you too."

* * *

The next time Blake and Sam saw Doctor Rhodes, they stood up right as he spoke. "Ross has woken up now."

The guys nodded as Blake asked. "Room number please?"

Right after the doctor told them, Sam was the first one to start moving before Blake started following while the doctor tried to tell them to not get him into too much stress, but it fell on deaf ears because these two were on a mission, and nothing was going to stop them from completing it.

When they made it to his room, which Sam practically busted the door open, startling/making Ross more alert in the process as he looked toward the door, then he wasted no time walking toward him as he spoke in a hard tone. "Where is she, where is my wife? I know you know where she is."

He looked at the man coming towards him while shaking his head. "I don't know what you are talking about, I..."

He was cut off when he heard Blake's voice next. "I would tell him the truth, man. He is one pissed off husband, and there is no telling what damage he could do if he messed with one of your wires."

"Man I swear..." He trailed off as he watched Sam take one the wires he was connected too, then he looked over at Blake, who was now standing at the foot of the bed just watching with a hard look in his eyes, and knowing Blake wouldn't tell the other man to stop, he nodded. "Ok, I'll tell you. But first, you have to know I told him I was done being his helper. And advised him to just forget his plan, walk away, and just start over, which I know it probably wasn't the smartest move, but I actually thought he was going to do it. He even acted all friendly towards me, well until he stuck me with a needle."

Blake asked. "So, he tried to kill you?"

Ross nodded with tears in her eyes. "Yes, and probably would've been successful if I didn't end up here as quickly as I did."

Before anymore questions were asked, Sam only wanted the one that was important to him. "Now tell me where my wife is."

He cleared his throat and looked over at Sam. "Summer house at Lake Mead, it was a family place that was passed down to my aunt and uncle after my parents died. But I knew they wouldn't be using it until the middle of August."

Sam walked away from the bed, pulling his phone out of his pocket and hitting the correct speed dial. "Sara, we have a location."

As he was talking to her, Ross looked at Blake, and Blake just shook his head. "Get some help man."

"I will, I got in too deep this time."

Blake just nodded as he looked over at Sam, who was now walking toward the door, so he started following him while Ross spoke again. "Blake?" After Blake looked at him, he continued. "I never blamed you for what you did that night, you did the right thing."

Blake nodded, by now feeling completely at peace with the choice he had made. "I know I did."

Then he walked out of the room, trying to catch up to Sam. "Sam, wait up man. What are you doing?"

He looked over at the younger man as they continued to walk. "What do you think I'm doing, I'm getting my wife back."

Blake stopped himself as he placed his hand on Sam's shoulder to stop him too and shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea, let the professionals do it."

He smirked humorlessly and shook his head. "I think the professionals, as you called them, where part of the problem. I don't think they took the threat too seriously, so you can either come with me or stay here, but either way, I'm going." Then he started to have tears in his eyes again as he continued. "She's going to know that I was there for her, and I'm going to make it up to her of not being there for her when she needed me the most."

Blake took a breath and started to say. "Sam..."

But Sam just shook his head and started walking away from him, making Blake sigh and shake his head before catching up with Sam again as they walked toward the exit of the hospital, once again on a mission.

* * *

By the time Blake and Sam had made it on the street of the correct summer house, they see Sara getting out of her vehicle.

Blake stopped his vehicle behind hers before he gets out first as he sees Sara starting to walk toward the house. "Sara, wait."

Sara looked back at him and shook her head. "I can't, that's my daughter in there."

"I know, but you should at least wait for more back up." They hear the sirens coming, so he started to speak. "See they're almost..."

He didn't finish because they all hear the sound of a gunshot.

They looked toward the house as Sam shouted. "No!"

He was about to move toward it, but Blake stopped him as Sara wasted no more time waiting, which as she started running toward the house, there was another gunshot.

With the adrenaline pumping through her, she busted the front door open, yelling freeze while holding out her gun as she took a step inside, not seeing anyone in the living room.

* * *

"Bailey! Are you ok?"

Bailey's heart was pounding while she was still in a little shock at what just happened, then after a few seconds, she moves Tom's prone body off of her and checked his pulse to see if he was really dead, even though there was a bullet hole close to where his heart was, before looking down at the gun she had in her hands. She then tossed it on the bed as she heard her mother's voice again.

"Bailey!"

She gets off the bed and runs to the closed door, only to find it locked, but she did shout. "I'm ok mom, the door is locked from the inside so I need to find a key."

After searching the room, not finding it, she looked down at Tom before taking a breath and searching his pants pockets, finally finding it in the left one before running back to the door to open it, and once it was, she rushed toward the living room, seeing her mom standing in front of the opened front door.

But halfway there Sara shouted as she puts her hand up. "Stop right there honey, don't take another step."

Bailey did what her mother had asked before asking with curiosity and a little worry. "What's wrong, mom?"

Sara took a breath before she explained. "I think I just triggered a bomb."

* * *

AN: I hope putting the flashback was ok. Oh no. Find out what happens next. Please review.

*Bailey's account one what happened will be coming*

**Also Grissom's flashback, even though some parts were edited out, happened in the first story in the series.**


	11. Getting Out in Time?

AN: Warning: A few questionable words. Thank you to those who have stuck with me. Now let's find out what happens next, shall we?

* * *

Chapter 11: Getting Out in Time?

Bailey gasped. "Mom."

"It's ok sweetie, it has to be on some type of timer, or else it would have already blown up, just don't take any more steps this way." Then she asked as she looked at her daughter's split lip and bruise on her cheek, making it look like she had gotten slapped at one time, which made Sara's blood boil. "Are you ok?"

Bailey pointed to her face. "Oh, this? I'm fine, this was the worst he did to me."

When she saw the relief in her mother's eyes, Bailey reciprocated that look as their moment was interrupted when they heard a voice from the front porch. "What's going on Sara?"

Sara gasped as she spoke with her back toward the other person. "Warrick, what the hell are you doing here?"

"When Greg told me what was going on, I wasn't about to miss the show."

"Well get out of here, or this could be the last show you'll ever see."

"Sara..."

He trails off, and started to take a step closer to the door before Bailey shouted at him. "Stop Uncle Warrick! Mom thinks she triggered a bomb."

Warrick stopped his feet immediately. "Damn, ok. I'll call the bomb squad."

"And while you're at it, get out of here."

Warrick just smiled and shook his head as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. "Not a chance, I'm seeing this till the end."

As he was dealing with that and telling the police officers that were there on what's going on, Bailey smiled a little. "I guess that's what you get for having a loyal team."

"And you should know that you have one too."

Bailey nodded. "I know."

Sara shook her head. "I'm taking about your CSI team; your husband, he's here." Bailey gasped as she continued. "And he's really beating himself up right now that he let you walk out of the apartment when he felt that something was off."

Bailey sniffled as she shook her head. "It wasn't his fault, and I'm glad he didn't stop me."

"Bailey..."

Bailey cuts her off. "If he had intervened, then I'll bet my life that he wouldn't be here right now, possible the kids too. I needed Tom away from them."

Sara had tears in her eyes as she asked. "Even if it mean losing your life?"

"I had no choice mom. I love you and dad, you know that. But Sam and the kids are my life, and I would feel lost without them, I hope you understand that."

Sara nodded without hesitation. "I do, more than you can possible know, because..."

Bailey cuts her off with another smile. "You would have done the same thing." She took a breath before finishing. "See, I may look more like dad, but I have a lot of you in me, and not just your blood."

Sara couldn't help but chuckle a little as she nodded. "And I'm seeing that more everyday."

* * *

35 minutes later

Their latest conversation was interrupted when Sara's phone started to ring, so she took a breath as she carefully pulled it out of her clip and answered it before putting it on speaker.

"Yes."

"Mrs. Grissom, let's see about getting that bomb disabled."

"Yes, please, and Tristan?"

"Yes."

"See if there is a way on getting Bailey out first."

Tristan Wade may have been barley over 30 but he was an expert on bombs, one of the best they ever had working for them.

Bailey tried to speak. "Mom..."

But was cut off with Tristian's voice. "You got it."

The line was still connected while Tristan was sweeping the perimeter of the house to find a vernable spot.

"Mom, I..."

Sara cuts her off this time. "No arguments, I want you out of here and away from this house."

Before Bailey could speak, Tristan's voice was heard. "Damn, did this man have a death wish? So far every exit has a trigger."

Sara and Bailey looked at one another and nodded as Bailey started to speak loud enough so Tristan could hear. "This was it for him, he knew it. He had a plan on not going back to prison, so either if I triggered it or help did, he didn't care as long as he didn't go back."

"Well, I hate to say it but he's smarter than I gave him credit for."

"He was actually really smart in school, loved anything that dealt with science. He had a promising future."

"What happened?"

Sara took that question. "Like what most things make someone turn, heartbreak. He found out his girlfriend was cheating on him, but knowing that if he went after her, he might have been caught sooner because he would have been the prime suspect, so he turned to someone who closely resembled her, and unfortunately she became his first victim before he fled, and it eventually led him to Vegas."

Before anymore words were said, the window in the living room opened, and Tristan, who was in a protective suit, spoke. "Whether it was intentional or not, I found a vulnerable spot."

Then he held out his hand to help her out, but Bailey just looked at him before looking at her mother. "Mom..."

But Sara once again cuts her off. "Honey get out of here, think of your husband and kids, they still need you. Don't let them grow up without a mother."

Bailey sniffled with a nod, knowing her mother was right, then replied. "You have to get of here too, promise me?"

Trying to hold on to her own emotions, Sara responded. "I'll try my hardest sweetheart. Now go, the longer you delay him the shorter the time he has to find it and disable it."

Bailey nodded as she carefully made it to the opened window, and once she was there, she turned around and signed. 'I love you'

Sara smiled with tears in her eyes as she whispered back. "I love you too, sweetie."

Bailey gave her mother one more smile before she went through the opened window with the Tristan's help, and once she was and her bare feet were on the ground, she looked in Tristan's blue eyes and spoke loud enough so he could hear her. "Get her out of this Tristan, please."

He smiled with a nod. "You got it."

Bailey nodded with a smile before she started to run toward the driveway, thankful it was asphalt. Then once she was at the end, she looks both ways, the left way, a few houses down, had the normal yellow tape block with a couple of cops keeping the few onlookers away, but then as she looked the other way, she hears her husband's voice. "Bailey!" before seeing him waving his arm, so she takes off running toward him.

The minute Sam saw her, he was itching to get to her, and finally went with that feeling, going under the yellow tape before he could be stopped by a cop, and ran toward his wife.

When they met not long after, she jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist as he held on to her and spun her around in the middle of the empty street while they were both sobbing.

Once he had stopped spinning, with their foreheads together, Sam started speaking through his tears. "I am so sorry honey, I should have..."

She cuts him off as she removed on of her arms from his neck and cupped his cheek as she pulled her forehead from his. "You did nothing wrong, I promise. Everything that didn't happen in that apartment, is what I wanted to happen, you three were my priority, I need you guys safe, so stop kicking yourself. I'm here, I'm ok." When he finally looked at her face, and saw the same thing her mother did, Sam's eyes narrowed, which Bailey saw the look so she ran her thumb up and down his cheek. "It's ok, this is the worst he did to me."

He looked at her with relief but his tone was hard. "If that SOB was still alive, he wouldn't be right now."

As her feet touched the asphalt of the road, she shook her head. "Well, you don't have to worry about that." Before he could speak, she continued after clearing her throat. "We should get back over there."

He nodded, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and walked her back toward the yellow tape, and after they were under it, Blake smiled and wrapped his arms around her for a hug. "I'm glad you're ok."

"Thank you, me too."

Then as they were pulling back, they hear another voice, one they weren't quite expecting. "Bailey, where is your mother?"

The guys and Bailey turned around to see her father standing there, who had just arrived to see how everything was going considering the last time he heard from Sara was when she called to tell him they had a location, and that was almost an hour ago, so with no news on a update, he had to know what was going on, and with Lindsey saying she'll watch the kids and the kids giving him their support on leaving, he left the house.

But seeing just his daughter, as great as that was, there had to be a reason it was just her out of that house, and it wasn't giving him a very good feeling, which was getting worse when he noticed she was trying to hide it in her face.

"Bailey what is it?"

She cleared her throat before speaking softly. "There's a bomb, she triggered a bomb."

Grissom frowned with his heart pounding as he looked toward the house, then he shook his head and started walking toward the yellow tape, only being stopped when his daughter took his hand. "Daddy, don't go."

Grissom turned around and cupped his daughter's cheek, then looked at her with sadness, knowing this choice wasn't easy, but deep down he had to go with his heart. "I have to, honey. She's my wife."

Bailey nodded in understanding with tears in her eyes as she wraps her arms around her father's neck, making him hold her to her. "I love you sweetie, never forget that."

"I won't."

He started to speak as they were pulling back. "And Bailey, if anything should happen..."

But she cuts him off with a nod and slight smile. "I know, they'll have me."

Grissom smiled as Sam spoke while wrapping his arm around Bailey's shoulder. "They'll have us, you have my word, sir."

He held out hand toward Sam. "You're good man, Sam."

Shaking the old man's hand, Sam nodded. "Thank you, dad, so are you."

He gave the younger man a slight smile as they released hands before he cupped his daughter's cheek and ran his thumb up and down it before removing it and started walking again.

* * *

After her daughter had left the house, Sara takes a relief breath, even though she knew one wrong move could end it all for her and everybody who was near.

But if it meant she took her daughter's place standing here, then she was ok with that because having her child, children, safe was what mattered most to her, no matter how much her heart was aching for her husband, knowing how he would feel if he knew what was going on. But she also knew that if the roles were reversed, he would have done the same because he would have wanted their daughter safe too.

When her husband came to her mind, she closed her eyes and thought of all the magical moments she spent with him.

As her mind was coming back to the present, she hears an unexpected voice. "I hope you didn't fall asleep because one wrong move could gave a lot of us a very bad day."

She gasped as she opened her eyes before looking toward the still opened window. "Gilbert, what the hell are you doing here?"

Despite her using his full name, he couldn't help but smirk a little. "Oh, you know something in our wedding vows about being there for better or for worse, well you got admit it doesn't get much worse than this."

Sara sniffled again as she shook her head. "This isn't funny, this is very real."

This time he spoke in a more serious tone. "I know this is real, but I'm sure as hell not going to see some killer break up my family."

There was a slight pause before Sara's voice got a little lower. "She killed him, Grissom."

He takes a breath and nodded. "I had a feeling, but let's concentrate on one problem at a time, shall we?"

"You shouldn't be here, the kids still need their father."

This time Grissom started to get a little emotional. "And they still need their mother, which I'm not planning on going home without her, so you can yell, scream, or even curse at me, but I'm not moving until we both can go home."

One more sniffle, she couldn't help but smile a little. "You're crazy, you know that?"

"Yeah, crazy about you since the minute I met you."

"The minute? You see, I always thought it was the second."

He couldn't help but give her another one of his smirks that she secretly had always admired, before replying with love in his eyes. "It was, but I didn't want to come off as some creepy old guy."

Sara shook her head before replying with love in her eyes. "Never found you creepy, or old. But you became my guy the same second you became crazy."

As they continued to look at one another with love in their eyes, they couldn't help but think of that time in Boston, and if they could do it all over again, they would and do it better, meaning the second time around, he may have never left her apartment the next morning. He would have done anything to stick around and be there, then their lives together would have started out a lot differently.

Their moment of the 'what if' dream was interrupted when they heard a voice coming from Sara's phone. "Damn."

Sara cleared her throat before she answered. "What is it Tristan?"

"Yeah, sorry about interrupting your moment, but we have a problem."

"I got that, what's going on?"

"Well, the good thing is that I found the bomb under the house, but the bad thing is he made it impossible to cut the wires, meaning the only way this thing is going to be disabled is typing in a 4 digit passcode..."

Sara cuts him off as she looks at Grissom with fear in her eyes. "Where literally any combination is possible."

"Yep."

"How much time is left?"

"I uh...Well..."

"Tristan, tell me."

He took a breath as he finished. "Just hit 20 minutes."

After Sara mentally cursed, she started to speak toward her husband. "Griss..."

But he cuts her off as he shook his head. "I'm not going. Now concentrate, think like the criminalist I know you are, you know his background, which I'm going to put money down and say you've memorized it."

Sara took a breath and nodded. "Bailey should be in on this, she knows it too, if not more. And like you've always said..."

Grissom cuts her off as he hits the correct speed dial after grabbing his phone from his pocket. "Two heads are better than one, especially when two of my girls' are involved." Even at a time like this Sara couldn't help but shyly smile and move a some of hair behind her ear at that comment while Grissom talked on the phone. "Sam, can you please put Bailey on the phone."

A second later, Grissom puts his phone on speaker as Bailey's voice was heard. "What's going on?"

He answered. "We need a 4 digit passcode, something that only he would associate with."

Bailey took a breath before she continued. "Ok, well, normally I would say maybe the year he was born, but..."

Sara cuts her off. "He would think that's the first thing, or one of the first things, we would guess, and he maybe cocky..."

Bailey finishes it for her. "But he isn't dumb. What about a year a parent was born, his mother?"

Grissom gets involved. "Why not his father?"

Sara shook her head. "His parents divorced when he was 2, and his father died not long after. And from the reports I've gotten, he was close to his mother until she died just before he turned 16, so what do you think, year of birth or death?"

Bailey took a breath before replying. "The year she died would have really tore him up, so it would have stuck with him. Yeah, go that route."

Sara and Grissom looked into each other's eyes as she relayed the year to Tristan, but a second later, he cursed before speaking. "I don't want to alarm anybody, but it just sped up a little."

They all cursed before bouncing a few more years back and forth, a lot of them sounding like good ideas, and even trying one more, which was wrong so it made time speed up again, making everybody's heart race just a little more.

As time was slipping by, Bailey had one more idea. "Wait guys, we've been going at this all wrong. I think I just figured it out."

Sara spoke, trying to hold on to her emotions. "What is it?"

"What it's been about this whole time, why we are even here. It's about the one victim that got away, me. Damn, why didn't I think of that first."

Grissom spoke to calm her. "It's ok sweetie, what year would he have picked, the year you were born or the year you met?"

There was no hesitation when she answered. "The year we met, 2009. It's been etched in his mind the moment he was caught."

Grissom looked at Sara. "Well, would you agree?"

Sara smiled with a nod. "Yes, I trust it."

"Ok, you know what to do."

She nodded before clearing her throat and speaking in her phone. "Tristan, type in 2009."

Tristian took a breath and said. "Ok, typing now."

As he typed in the digits, Sara and Grissom just looked at one another, showing one another how much love there still was between them as everybody else who was stuck behind the yellow tape looked toward the house holding their breaths, waiting for confirmation that everything was ok.

A second later Tristan breathed a sigh of relief before he said. "It worked, the timer has stopped, you are free to move."

Grissom was about to speak while he was speed walking toward the front of the house, but didn't have to say anything because he heard cheering, so he just turned off the phone and placed it in his pocket as he stepped on the front porch before stopping in the doorway of the house. "Sara."

Sara turned around, still stunned that everything worked out, then smiled with tears in her eyes as she ran toward him, almost knocking him over when she got there. But he didn't care because he held on to her like he was never going to let her go again, and that was fine with her, at least for the time-being.

She did eventually want to be reunited with the rest of her family, but in this moment, being in his arms was what she wanted the most, and man did it feel good, especially when he kissed her head and whispered his love and comfort to her.

When they finally pulled back from one another, he cups her cheek and looks right into her eyes, but just as they were getting ready to kiss, Warrick cleared his throat and said. "I'm still here, just letting you know."

They smiled at one another before Sara pulls out of her husband's arms and walks toward Warrick, who was standing on the first step of the porch before giving him a hug. "You're crazy too, you know that."

Warrick wraps his arms around her as he replied with a sigh of relief. "I had faith it would all work out. Although, I hate to admit it, it was scary there for a second or two."

Sara nodded as they pulled back. "Yeah it was."

Then Warrick smirked as he shook his head. "And you and bombs, what's up with you two?"

She couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head. "I don't know." Then she gets a little more serious. "But I think I've dealt with enough of them to last a lifetime."

Grissom places his hand on the small of her back as he nodded in agreement while they share another loving look, but it was interrupted by Tristan, who was only in the bottom half of the protection suit because he couldn't get under the house with everything on.

"Under the house is cleared, so everybody else can do their jobs."

Sara smiled at the young, 5'8, Black haired, hazel eyed man. "Thank you Tristan for what you did, we owe you."

Tristan shook his head with a smile. "Just doing my job, knowing you're ok is all the thanks I need."

They just shared one more smile before he started walking away, but Grissom wanted to talk to him, so he kissed his wife's cheek and started saying his name as he caught up to the younger man.

Sara and Warrick saw the interaction for a few seconds before looking at one another, then she cleared her throat and said. "You working the case?"

He looked at his watch, noticing day shift wasn't quite done, so he looked at his ex-colleague/long time friend. "Technically shift isn't done and the supervisor gets to choose, so guess what?"

Sara slowly started to smile a little. "Your supervisor, so you get to choose."

He nodded before his face gets serious as he places his hand on her shoulder. "I know if your team could do this, you guys would in a heartbeat. Just know our team will do everything by the book, I'll make sure of it."

"I know, and I know in the end everything will work out because you know what Grissom use to always say."

Before either one could speak, they hear Grissom's voice. "The evidence never lies."

They smiled at the older man, remembering all the times he use to say that, then Warrick cleared his throat as he took his hand off Sara's shoulder. "Alright, I better call the team and get them here." As they nodded, Warrick continued. "Oh, and you know at some point I'm going to have to talk to Bailey to get her account."

They nodded again before Sara spoke. "That shouldn't be a problem, but you know the captain is going to be speaking to her too."

"I know, but you know I don't really like my information second hand."

"Understandable, we'll let Bailey know."

"Ok, enjoy your evening."

"Thanks Warrick."

Grissom held out his hand toward the younger man. "Thanks Warrick."

Warrick smiled at him while shaking his hand before releasing it, then he headed toward the driveway and street so he could get his kit and call his team.

Sara and Grissom started following behind him so they could be reunited with their daughter, and after a few seconds of silence, she looked over at him and asked. "What did you offer Tristan? He looked mighty happy."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders before speaking with a smile. "Well, you would too if you got two tickets, all expenses paid to see your favorite sporting team...well if you liked sports that is."

She chuckled. "You didn't?"

When he replied he looked serious as he cupped his cheek. "Hey, he saved a few very important lives today, and I know it was his job, but I thought he deserved a nice reward for it."

She slips her fingers in the hand that was slung over her shoulders as she looked at her man with love and admiration. "Well, there is a doctor and nurse I feel we need to reward for their help too."

Grissom nodded. "Ok, I'll see what I can do."

"You're such a big softie."

He kissed her temple and whispered with a smirk. "Just don't tell anybody, I don't want to ruin my reputation."

Sara chuckled and shook her head. "I won't, but I think the cats been out of the bag a long time because they've seen how you are with the kids."

He smiled then looked toward the right when they got to the sidewalk. "Can't help that, you know your heart just melts when you see them."

Sara looked the same way Grissom did, and they saw their oldest smiling at them from a distance, making her heart do just what Grissom said, so she sighed and nodded. "Can't argue that one."

* * *

AN: Changes are about to happen. Find out what happens next. Please Review.


	12. Changes Ahead

AN: Warning: A few questionable words. Thanks for the reviews, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 12: Changes Ahead

They didn't exactly run, but their steps did get quicker, so it didn't take them very long to get to the yellow tape, and the moment they were on the other side of it, Bailey was right in her mother's arms. "Mom." Sara sighed in content as she held on to her daughter with tears in her eyes.

When they pulled back, she got into her dad's arms, who had the same reaction as Sara, then as they were in a three person family hug, their moment was interrupted when the captain of the LVPD cleared his throat and started speaking. "Mrs. Grissom, I would like to speak to you and your daughter now."

Bailey pulled from her parents arms and turned around to look at the early 40's, 6'1, dark eyed, short black haired, broad shoulder man as her mother spoke. "You don't waste any time Captain Cooper, do you?"

"Everything is fresh in her mind, and I'm sure you would love to be reunited with the rest of the family, so the quicker we do it the quicker you can have that reunion."

Before Sara or Grissom could speak, Bailey nodded. "I'll do it now, I'll meet you at the station."

Captain nodded. "See you there." Then he turned and walked away.

When he was out of sight, Grissom asked. "Are you sure you want to do this now sweetie?"

Bailey looked at her father with a nod. "Yes, I just want to get this over with, start to put it all of this behind me."

While everybody nodded in agreement they started walking toward the vehicles, then she asked after a sigh. "But is it too much to ask for one thing?"

Sara looked over at her daughter and asked. "What's that?"

"How about some shoes?"

They all started chuckling as Grissom kissed her temple before answering. "I'm sure we can do something about that."

* * *

After stopping at the closest shoe store, where she bought a pair of socks and shoes, the group headed toward the police station, and once they were all there and had stepped into the building, the captain wasted no time getting their attention and waving them over toward one the integration rooms.

When they got there, Sam and Bailey looked at one another before he asked. "You want me to come in there with you?"

Bailey kind of surprised him when she shook her head no, then replied. "I was kind of hoping my parents would though."

Grissom and Sara each placed a comforting hand on her shoulders as they were agreeing to it while Sam nodded. "Ok, I understand, I'll be out here waiting."

Bailey smiled with a nod. "I'll be out soon."

After one more nod and small smile from Sam; Bailey, Sara and Grissom walked into the room, and as Grissom was closing the door, Sara spoke while her and Bailey sat in two of the chairs that was on one side of the table. "Really? An interrogation room? So in your eyes she's a criminal now?"

The captain looked over at Sara with a raised eyebrow as he folded his hands and placed them on top of the open files he had on the table. "We should be treating this like any other case, but do you think she should get special treatment just because she's your daughter?"

Bailey and Grissom knew Sara was about to go off on him, so Bailey spoke before that could happen to diffuse the already thick tension in the room. "It's ok mom, this is fine. Let's just get this over with."

Sara looked at her daughter, who was giving her a pleading look to not make this worse, so Sara just nodded but was giving the captain a hard look as she crossed her arms over her chest.

After a seconds pause, captain Cooper cleared his throat as he picked up his pen before asking the young woman. "Alright, let's start from the beginning."

"Is the beginning of after shift alright?"

"We could start there."

Bailey nodded before she cleared her throat and continued. "Well, let's see, when my shift ended I was still too wired to go straight home so Jason and...I mean Detective Williams and I went out running in the park."

Before she could continue, the captain cuts her off as he finished writing that down. "You and Detective Williams are really close, aren't you?"

Bailey narrowed her eyes when he looked at her. "Yes I would say that we are, what are you getting at? I would never cross that line if that's what you think. I'm married to a wonderful husband with two very beautiful kids, so I'm sorry if you are looking for a little dirt there because you won't find anything. Nothing has or will ever happen like that between us."

He nodded, seeing the truth as he looked back down. "I just know he's very passionate on having your back."

"Well, we are good friends and that's what friends do."

She was going to finish with a sarcastic comment but decided against it since she didn't want to make things worse, before continuing her account on things.

"After we ran a few laps, we called it a morning."

"And that's when you met Detective Walker?"

"Yes, and he followed me home."

He nodded while he wrote that down before asking. "Then what happened?"

Bailey took a breath, knowing this part and going forward was about to become a lot harder to talk about. "When we got to my apartment I offered him a drink, which he had declined, before going inside and taking a shower. I wasn't out of the shower more than 10 minutes before there was a knock on my door..."

As she continued to recount the incident in her apartment, captain Cooper nodded while he continued to write it down, then she had to pause for a second about the time she got to them walking out of the apartment.

When he finished writing that, he looked at her and asked. "So, you willingly left with this man, knowing how dangerous he was?"

Bailey tried to remain strong, not wanting him to see her tears, as she nodded. "The only thing that mattered to me in that moment was the safety of my husband and kids. Had I resisted or Sam tried to stop him if he knew who it was, then I have no doubt in my mind that my family wouldn't be here right now, so yes I went with him willingly, and I would do it again a thousand times over, even if the results weren't the same, if it meant they were safe."

There was a pause in the captain before he picked up his pen again and looked down at the paper while speaking. "I don't know if you raised a brave or crazy girl, Mrs. Grissom."

Sara looked over at her daughter, then her husband, who was sitting on the other side of Bailey, and couldn't help but smile as she replied. "I think a little of both, sir."

There was a slight break in the tension for a few seconds before it picked back up where it left off while he had asked what happened next.

Bailey paused before replying. "Things get a little hazy after getting down to my vehicle." Sara and Grissom looked at her a little concerned as she continued once the captain looked at her again. "I believe the only way he thought he was going to get me to the right location without any trouble, which he would have been right, was to drug me, so I was out for the drive and a little time after."

Grissom moved his hand so it was over her daughter's, and she gives it a little squeeze as she gave him a little smile. "I'm ok, dad, I promise. Things didn't get that far while I was out."

Before Grissom could speak, captain Cooper did. "How can you be sure? It was his MO, right?"

Bailey nodded as she turned her head to look at him. "It was, but I think apart of me would know if he did something like that. Plus, he told me that's not how he wanted it." Bailey then shuddered as she finished what he had told her. "He wanted me to feel everything, so how could I do that if I was out of it?"

"Alright, what happened when you did come to?"

There was a another pause before Bailey started speaking as the memory of what happened came to her.

 _Flashback_

 _As Bailey was becoming conscious, she realized a few things, she was laying down on a bed, she was barefoot, her legs were tied down, and her hands were handcuffed above her head to the headboard._

 _When she had opened her eyes and turned her head as far as she could, she sees Tom sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, and when he saw her with her eyes opened, he stood up and walked toward the bed with a smile. "Sorry about the drugging, but I couldn't have you ruining my plan before it got really good."_

 _He sits on the side of the bed and looks down at her before he ran his hand down her body and over to the hem of her shirt, which she tried not to let it affect her, knowing he would like that even more, but before he could move his hand any further, she cleared her throat and asked. "Wait! Can I use the restroom, please."_

 _It wasn't a dire need, but anything to delay his actions and give her mother time to find her, she'll do it, even though she doesn't know how long she'll have to wait._

 _He paused then he stood up, removing his hand from her body before pulling the gun from the back of his pants. "I won't hesitate to use this."_

 _She just nodded as he untied her legs and un-cuffed her wrist before pointing towards the bathroom with his gun. "A few minutes only, and don't think you'll find anything in there, its cleared out."_

 _She walked to and in the master bathroom and closed the door before putting the back of her head on the door for second or two before doing her business. Then once she was done, she turned on the faucet and washed her hands, but kept it on for a few more seconds to look around for anything she could use, but he was right and smart, there was nothing in there to help her out, she was on her own._

 _She stopped at the closed bathroom door before taking a breath, hiding her vulnerable side and ready to bring that brave, no-nonsense side out, then she opened the door and stepped out, seeing Tom standing a couple of feet away with a smile on his face and his arms folded over his chest while the gun was in his right hand, then after looking at her up and down, he spoke while looking into her eyes. "Now, how about a little show, it's been awhile."_

 _Bailey smiled while she took a few steps inside the room. "You would really love that, wouldn't you?"_

 _"Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea."_

 _He watched her move her hand to the button of her pants, but she stopped and replied with a smirk, knowing it will make him mad, but she had a plan. "Well, I would love for you to drop dead, but we can't always have what we want, can we?"_

 _He narrowed his eyes as he took the few steps toward her and pulled her head back by her hair, making her wince a little, before he placed the gun under chin and spoke in a hard tone. "Your smart mouth is really starting to piss me off, I would bet you get that from your mother."_

 _She couldn't help but smile a little before smirking again. "You would win that bet, and you know what else I learned from her?"_

 _"What?"_

 _"The knowhow to defend myself against perverts like you."_

 _Before he could speak, she kneed him, making his grip on the gun slack a little while he bent forward in pain, so she moved quickly and took the gun from him, but he recovered a little quicker than she had anticipated, and for what she did he slapped her hard in the face while cursing at her, making her fall so she was now on the bed, which she had also lost the control of the gun and it was now laying next to her._

 _They had eye contact before looking over at the gun, then they both moved towards it, grabbing it around the same time and causing the gun to go off so a bullet hit the wall, then before she knew it, he was on top of her while they were continuing to fight for control of the gun before it went off again, this time he looked at her in shock before he fell on top of her while her heart started racing._

 _A few seconds later, she hears her mother's voice._

 _End of Flashback_

Bailey finally let a little of her emotion out as her parents comforted her while captain Cooper finished writing her account.

When he was done, he cleared his throat and folded his hands again before placing them on top of the file he was writing in. "When the day shift concludes their investigation and they find that your story match what you said, you'll be cleared to continue as a CSI. Until that time comes though, I suggest you take a little time to rest and be with your family."

"Ok, thank you, sir."

Captain Cooper nodded. "Now, you are free to go."

As Sara, Grissom and Bailey stood up, captain Cooper cleared his throat before speaking. "Uh, Mrs. Grissom, I would like a word with you."

Bailey looked at her mother with a concerned look, but Sara gives her a little smile as she cups her daughter's cheek. "It's ok, I'll be out there in a few minutes." After Bailey nodded, she headed for the door and walked out.

While the door clicked shut, Sara and Grissom sat back down, which Sara had moved from her end seat to the middle one as the captain looked at her husband, but before he could speak, Sara spoke while slipping her fingers through her husband's. "He's not leaving, so don't ask him to."

They both knew that he was the only one to keep her calm, and they had a feeling that what the captain had to say wouldn't keep her that way for long, so he needed to be her buffer just incase she got too heated.

"Alright, have it your way." Sara narrowed her eyes, already feeling her blood boil, even after Grissom had squeezed her hand. "Since I've been here the past year, I've noticed a few lines are a little blurred here between what it means to be a cop and CSI, and it is my job to clean that up. I've also proposed a change within the CSI teams and the new lab director approved it."

Sara slipped her fingers out her husband's before she crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you mean, changes?"

"As great as the day shift and swing shift teams have been, I've noticed that their solve rate numbers have been low, lower than usual, so I suggested that some of the night shift team be moved to help them out." Sara gasped and was about speak, but he continued before she could. "Ms. Morgan Brody will be moved to Swing shift. Mrs. Willows-Adams and Mrs. Grissom-Miller will be joining the day shift, and the night shift will retain you, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Adams, Ms. Charles had expressed interest in staying with your team, and a new hire of your choosing."

"You've got to be kidding me, right? Is this punishment for going over your head when I knew you wouldn't have done a damn thing about the protection detail?"

"Don't think of this as punishment, think of it as a job well done, the people you taught could spread that knowledge around. After all, we all have one goal here, and that is to get killers off the streets, I thought that's something you would agree on."

Sara shook her head as she stood up, and knowing what Sara was about to do, Grissom stood up too and placed his hand on the small of her back to keep her standing still. "Call it what you want, but I think you're just jealous...I..."

Captain Cooper had cut her off, ignoring her words. "It also came to my attention that you had broke protocol today and left in the middle of your investigation, so I suggest you take a week..."

Sara cuts him off this time. "Your suspending me? You can't do that."

"I believe I just did, you could take it up with the director, but I think he would agree with me about your actions having consequences."

Sara was going to open her mouth, but Grissom shook his head and said. "Sara." He didn't think she should have said another word, or it might have made things worse, so she nodded and cleared her throat. "Fine, even though in my heart I know I did the right thing today, and there isn't anything that you can do that will change that."

"Is that all, Mrs. Grissom?"

Sara took a breath before shook her head and started walking toward the door, but then she stopped and looked over her shoulder and spoke again, which the captain already had his head down writing something. "There is one more thing actually, in the future you might want to take a threat more seriously, or the outcome just might end up differently next time. Then you'll have to explain to a grieving family why you didn't have more experienced officers on the protection detail."

Then she walked out of the room without another word, Grissom followed her out before shutting the door once he was and watched Sara as she paced the hallway shaking her head, letting the anger come through, and after a few back and fourths, Grissom cleared his throat and spoke while he was sitting down in the chairs. "I bet you regret not taking the directors position now."

Sara stopped her feet and looked at him, who was giving her a smirk with his eyes sparkling, she then took a breath and shook her head as she walked over to him before she sat down next to him. "I will accept the suspicion without anymore argument, I mean I did break protocol, even though I would do it again. But he's taking my team away, well not all of them, but still. I hate it."

Grissom nodded as he placed his hand on top of hers. "I know you do, but you know it isn't like you haven't been through a team change before."

She paused before smirking/almost laughing while shaking her head, thinking of all the team changes she's been through. "Nope, definitely not my first." Then she gets more serious as she looked him. "But..."

Grissom cuts her off while nodding of his head. "I know, sweetheart, this was one of your favorites, especially the part where you got to work with your daughter, I get it." She nodded as she looked down while he slipped his fingers through hers. "But think of it as this way, now our daughter has a chance to bring someone new under her wing and teach them everything that you taught her. And whatever she still needs to learn, she'll have Warrick."

Sara smiled as she looked at him again. "Who is passing down what you taught him."

Of course he taught her a few things too, but Warrick started his career with Grissom, whereas she had a few years under her belt before she got to him.

Grissom nodded with a smile and nod. "Yes, and I think that's pretty cool."

There was a slight pause before she nodded. "Yeah, I guess I can see that too." Then she sighed as she spoke lower. "But apart of me still doesn't like it."

He chuckled as he kissed her temple before continuing. "I know, but I don't think you are going win with this guy, and you have to admit he did have a point in there." She looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he finished. "You are all working for the same goal, so why make things more difficult?"

"So, you want me to play nice?"

He gave her a little smile as he squeezed her hand. "I believe it will make your shifts a little less stressful."

Sara sighed one more time as she stood up form the chairs she had been sitting in, then held out her hand to help him, and as he was standing up, she spoke with a nod. "Ok, I'll do whatever the captain wants without much argument, but you have to admit that he dropped the ball with the protection detail."

Grissom nodded as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "He did, and I'm just as upset about that as you are, but look at the bigger picture here."

Sara nodded with tears in her eyes. "She survived, she made it through."

Grissom nodded with tears in his eyes too. "Yes, she did."

After another second of looking at one another, Grissom cleared his throat and spoke. "Now, how about going to the lab, getting our daughter and taking her home to her kids."

Sara smiled with one more nod. "I love that idea."

Grissom had gotten a text message from Sam, telling him that they were now at the lab so she could talk to Warrick's team about what happened.

He smiled back before they started walking toward the exit of the police station, and just as they got to the door, Sara speaks again. "And Grissom."

"Yeah?"

"I know things got a little dicey there for a bit, but thanks for being there for me."

He kissed her temple one more time before whispering in her ear. "Always."

* * *

AN: Next chapter will have the family reunited, a few guests arrive, and Sara has something on her mind that she wants to share with Grissom, what will it be? Find out soon. Please Review.


	13. A Family reunited & More

AN: I'm still in the holiday spirit so enjoy a second chapter in one day. Hope you all had a great holiday.

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Chapter 13: A Family reunited & More

After Bailey's business with the lab was done, they all headed toward the Grissom residence. Then once they made it there and their vehicles were parked, they got out, and just as they were shutting the vehicle doors, the front door of the house opened and they all saw and heard Megan, Arthur and Ethan run out of the house smiling and shouting. "Bailey!"

Bailey smiled back and ran toward her siblings, all meeting in the middle of the front yard hugging and laughing, while the rest of the grown-ups watched the heartwarming scene.

Once the hugs and kisses were exchanged, their sibling moment was interrupted when they heard Lindsey's voice from the doorway. "I believe there is two other people who would love to see you."

The younger siblings stepped to the side the moment Little Sarah was let out of the house, and once she was, she started running toward her mother with a smile. "Mommy!"

Bailey ran toward her daughter and swooped her up in her arms right before she fell, and held her to her as she kissed her head with tears in her eyes. "Oh sweetie, I love you so much."

"Love you too."

Bailey pulled her daughter back a few seconds later so she could look into her eyes and smile, making her daughter give her a sad look as she tilted her head to the side. "You sad momma?"

Bailey shook her head and sniffled. "No, just really happy to see you."

Sarah moved her head so it was straight again and smiled bigger. "Me too." Then they hugged one another again as Bailey headed toward the doorway so she could see Lindsey, who was holding her son.

Once she was standing in front of her best friend they both have tears in their eyes as Lindsey tried to speak. "Bailey I...I.."

But Bailey cuts her off with a smile. "I know, it's so good to see you too."

They both smile, then she kissed her daughter's cheek and whispered. "Sweetie, why don't you go to grandma, she really could use one of your hugs right now, ok?"

Sarah smiled with a nod, then after Bailey kissed her daughter's cheek again, she sets her down on the walk way, and after watching her daughter head toward her mother, her attention went toward the little guy in Lindsey's arms.

After taking Sam Jr. in her arms, she hugged him to her chest and bent down to kiss his forehead before whispering to him as he was looking at her with wide blue eyes. "Hi buddy, you don't know how much I need this right now. I love you so much."

A few minutes later Bailey looks at Lindsey again, and this time she was giving her a look that told her she was hiding a secret, so she asked raising an eyebrow. "What's up, Linds?"

Lindsey smiled bigger, not able to keep it a secret anymore. "There are two more people who would love to see you."

"Ok, who?"

Lindsey moved to the side to let Bailey in the house, and the minute she stepped inside, she screamed out while smiling. "Uncle Nick, Aunt Catherine!"

Sara and Grissom smiled when they heard their daughter say two names they weren't expecting as they were heading toward the front door of the house, making it there just in time to see Bailey pulling away from Catherine.

The four friends smiled at one another, then after Sara had set little Sarah down, she walked right into the house and got into a hug with Nick, who had wasted no time wrapping his arms around her.

While they were having their moment, Grissom walked up to Catherine and they shared a smile right before they get into a hug, and while in it, Catherine sniffled as she whispered. "I'm glad everything worked out."

As they were pulling back, Grissom nodded with another smile while trying to hold his emotions in, but Catherine knew exactly how he felt. "Me too, Cath. Me too."

After the rest of the greetings were done, and everybody was in the house with the front door now closed, Sara spoke after she cleared her throat and stood next to her husband. "What are you guys doing here?"

Nick smiled as he placed his hand on the small of his wife's back with one hand and placed his other hand on his son's shoulder before speaking. "Well, we felt it was time to see everybody. Plus, it was time to pick up this little guy, we've missed him."

"How long are you here for?"

Catherine answered that. "Only until tomorrow."

Grissom spoke to that. "Well, short visit or long, we are happy to see you two."

Nick nodded with a smile. "And it's always good to see everybody."

They all smiled before Grissom spoke again. "Are there any objections to Pizza?"

While everybody agreed that pizza for dinner was an acceptable choice, there was a knock on the door.

Everybody looked around at one another before Grissom asked. "Were we expecting anybody else?"

While they shook their heads, Arthur walked to the door and opened it, then he smiled and turned around to look at his twin sister. "It's for you, it's your boyfriend."

Megan shyly smiled as she placed some of her hair behind her ear as she walked toward the open door while both Nick and Catherine looked at Grissom with a surprised look on their faces and mouthed 'boyfriend?' Grissom just gave them a smile and short nod.

Now with the whole family watching, Kyle started to speak to Megan, his eyes only on her, even though his heart was pounding. "I'm glad everything worked out."

Megan had text Kyle not long ago to tell him that they had found her sister.

Megan smiled with a nod. "Thank you, you know you didn't have to ride your bike all the way over here, you could have just text me back."

Kyle nodded with a smile. "I know, but I wanted to tell you in person how happy I was, I hope that's ok." Then he lost his smile slightly. "I could leave if you want me to."

"No! Well I... Uh..."

As Megan struggled with a response, her father saved her when he walked up behind her, now in the view of Kyle. "Why don't you stay for dinner, you against pizza?"

Kyle smiled while shaking his head. "No sir, I would love to, I love pizza." Then he looked at Megan. "If she wants me to stay that is."

Grissom looked down at his daughter. "Well, sweetie, what do you think?"

Megan looked up at her father with a nod and smile before looking at Kyle. "Yeah, you can stay."

She just wasn't sure what her father would say about him staying, but now that she knew he was ok with it, then she definitely was on board, even though she knew he was meeting the rest of the family, well most if it anyways, and she wasn't sure how he would feel about that.

But any worry left her the minute he stepped in the house because if he was as nervous as she thought he was, he didn't show it. He was very polite and took all the joking, mostly from her twin brother, in stride, so not only was her family whole again, but the boy she had her first crush on was getting along with the family, making it the best day of her life.

* * *

Their day eventually turned to the evening, which the house had been filling up with laughter and good stories through out; something that was missing for most the day. Then a little bit later, once there was agreement to having breakfast with the rest of the gang tomorrow, Catherine, Nick, Emmitt, Blake, Blake Jr, and Lindsey left the Grissom house so they could go to Lindsey and Blake's place, where that family could have some time together.

A couple of hours later Grissom offered to take Kyle home, so once they stuck his bike in the back of the SVU, the three of them left the house, and once Grissom pulled in the driveway of the young man's place, the three of them got out of the vehicle so Grissom could get the bike from the back.

After the bike was out and on the driveway, Kyle cleared his throat and held out his hand toward Grissom. "Thanks for letting me stay for dinner and the ride."

Grissom smiled as he shook the young man's hand. "You're welcome, have a good night, Kyle."

Kyle smiled with a nod as they released hands, then after an awkward pause, Grissom cleared his throat and spoke toward his daughter. "Well, I'll be waiting in the vehicle, sweetie."

The teenagers nodded, and after he was in the vehicle and buckled in, he watched them head toward the open garage, and if he wanted to he could have read their lips, but decided against it so he wouldn't be invading his daughter's privacy. But towards the end of their short goodbye, he did witness an unexpected small peck on the lips, and he couldn't help but smile a little.

Now deep down he knew this could only be the first of many, but as first boyfriends go, he definitely approved. He just probably wouldn't admit it to her right away that he liked him.

His smile was still on his face as his daughter slipped back into the vehicle, and as they looked at one another, a small blush came over her face as she shook her head with a smile. "Just drive, dad."

He chuckled with a nod as he started the vehicle, then as he pulled out of the driveway, he just said three words. "Nice young man."

Megan smiled a little bigger with a nod before she turned her head and looked out the window as she thought. 'Yep, definitely best day of my life.'

* * *

When Grissom and Megan made it home and inside the house, Megan said goodnight to her sister and brother-in law before going upstairs.

Once she was out of the room, Bailey looked over at her father with a raised eyebrow. "Did I hint of a little embarrassed look on her face?"

He smirked after taking his jacket off before hanging it up in the coat rack. "I guess your first kiss being witnessed by your dad will do that to you."

Bailey couldn't help but chuckle with a nod. "Well, a first kiss itself is a little nerve-racking, but your dad witnessing it could take it to a whole new level."

Grissom smiled with a nod, then he cleared his throat and asked. "So, what's going on?"

"Mom said that we can stay here tonight, and we are thinking about taking her up on that offer, the kids are already asleep upstairs."

Grissom walked toward the coach with a nod. "You are welcome to stay here as long as you want, you know that."

"Thanks, but we don't want to be in the way too much."

He cupped his daughter's cheek with love in his eyes. "Nonsense, you guys are never in the way. We love having you here." Bailey just nodded with a smile, then after he kissed her daughter's cheek, he pulled back and continued. "I love you, have a good night, and if you need us, you know where we are."

"Love you too dad, you have a goodnight too."

After one more look between daughter and father, Grissom pulled his hand back and shook Sam's hand before turning and heading up the stairs, and after stopping in front of Ethan's closed bedroom door, he knocked before hearing his son's voice. "Come in."

He opened the door and sees Ethan on his bed while his son Arthur was on the air mattress they had aired up since his niece and nephew took his room, and smiled at them. "You guys good?"

They nodded with smiles as Arthur spoke. "Yeah, we're good dad."

Grissom nodded as he stepped in the room before he walked to his youngest son and gave him a hug. "I love you, buddy. Thank you for your help today."

As they pulled back, Ethan smiled with a nod. "Of course dad, we are family and when one of us needs us we pull together and help out, that's what we do."

"You're very right about that."

Then after hugging and telling his oldest son he loved him too, he walked toward the door and turned around once he was there before smiling at his boys one more time. "Goodnight."

Both replying at the same time. "Goodnight, dad."

After closing the door, he said goodnight to his youngest daughter before continuing his walk to the master bedroom.

When he made it to and in the room, he noticed Sara wasn't in the room, but the bathroom door was closed, so he shut the bedroom door before he started walking to the master bathroom door and knocked.

A few seconds later he hears sniffling while she tells him to come in.

When he did, he sees his wife standing in front of the mirror wrapped in a towel, ready to take a bath, but it looked like she had been crying, so he closed the door and walked up to her as she turned around to look at him before she shook her head, still sniffling. "I'm sorry."

Grissom shook his head and wrapped his wife in his arms immediately and whispered. "You have nothing to be sorry about, honey, today was a very emotional, scary day even, so let it out."

So that's exactly what she did, thinking about everything that happened today came to the surface again, but this time she was in the safety of her husband's arms.

A few minutes later, she pulls back sniffling again, so he cups her cheek as she spoke. "I'm so thankful to have you, I love you so much."

He smiled as he finished wiping her tears. "I love you too." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead before pulling back and asking with love, compassion, and admiration in his eyes. "You ok, now?"

She nodded after a few more sniffles. "Yeah, but I'll feel even better after my bath."

He smiled. "Well, don't let me stop you."

She takes his hand off her cheek and kissed it before looking at him with love in her eyes. "Would you like to join me? After all we didn't get this two person bath for nothing, now did we?"

He smiled bigger with his eyes sparkling. "No we didn't, I'll join you in a minute."

She smiled bigger. "Ok."

After a peck on the lips, he pulls back and heads to the bedroom while she walked toward the tub so she could get in.

* * *

Once their bath was done and they were changed into their sleeping clothes,  
Sara started brushing her hair, but Grissom stepped up behind her and asked while putting his hand on her hairbrush. "You mind?"

She looked him through the mirror and shook her head with a smile. "Nope, go ahead."

After a few brush stokes in silence, he cleared his throat and asked. "So, I couldn't help but notice you were a little quiet earlier."

Even though she was laughing and enjoying the company, there were moments when he noticed she just looked at everybody with a smile or warm look, like she was remembering something about them from the past.

She nodded slightly as she replied. "It's because I've been thinking about something, and to be honest it's been on my mind for the last few months."

"And what's that?"

She cleared her throat before looking into this eyes through the mirror once he was looking at her. "How would you feel about me resigning my position as a CSI?"

He looked at her wide-eyed. "Sara..."

She turned around as she cuts him off. "Like I said this has been on my mind a lot lately, and after what happened in that house today, it only made my decision come a littler quicker than I had planned."

He cleared his throat and said. "Wow, I'll admit I'm kind of shocked." Sara nodded with a smile as he continued to process what she said, then asked. "Does this have to do anything with the team change?"

Sara shook her head and cupped her cheek. "No, but I'll admit I kind of wish that team would have been with me when I made the announcement."

"Are you sure this is what you want? Because you know this isn't the first time you made this type of decision only to change your mind later."

"True." She nodded as she took her brush from his hands, then after setting it on the counter, she asked. "Can I ask you something?"

He nodded with a smile. "Of course."

"When did you know it was your time to end your career as a CSI?"

He slipped his fingers through hers and walked them to the bedroom, and after getting to the end of the bed, they sat down before he turned to her, speaking once they had eye contact. "When I started my career as a CSI I knew that no matter how hard or much I worked or how many criminals I put away, I was never going to get them all. That's just a fact I had to live with. But I promised myself something, and that was I would only walk away if I thought I had done everything that I could, which I felt that I done that." Then he smirked a little as he squeezed his wife's hands softly. "Not to mention my students had bypassed me, I felt like I was a teacher without students."

She smiled back as she nodded. "Last time when I walked away I felt like I was drowning, I needed the break. But this time I don't feel that, if I really wanted to I can do this job at least another 10 years, but deep down I feel I've done everything that I can, and I'm ready to do something else." She took a breath before continuing. "I also want longer moments being a mother and grandmother, I want to spend real vacation time with my family, I have a few more years left with the twins and Ethan before they're off on their new adventure." She then cups his cheek and smiled with love in her eyes. "And most of all I want to spend more time with my handsome husband, so what do you think?"

He smirked. "Well, I got admit, I like the 'spending time with my handsome husband part.'" She chuckled with a nod as he continued, this time in more serious tone as he placed his hand on top of hers that was still on his cheek. "If this is what you truly want, I'll support you 100%, no questions asked."

She raised an eyebrow. "But?"

He smiled as he took her hand off his cheek, then kissed the top of it before looking into her beautiful brown eyes again. "Take a little more time to think about it before you make this decision more permanent, I just don't want you to do anything rash because of what happened today."

Sara took a breath and nodded. "I guess thinking about it a little more won't hurt. Plus, it wouldn't be fair on Greg if I change my mind after saying it's his turn to be boss."

Grissom shook his head with a smile. "Wow, Greg being a boss, he's definitely come a long way. You think he's ready, don't you?"

Sara nodded with a smile. "Yes, I do. One thing I know with 100% certainty when I leave the lab, is that the team will be in the best hands possible."

He tugged on her hand to make her move so she was now sitting on his lap sideways, then he cupped her cheek and said with love in his eyes. "There is another certainty, I'm 100% in love with an amazing, beautiful, smart, brave woman, who I can't believed picked me to be her life partner."

With the smile still on her face and love in her eyes she cupped his cheek and whispered ."And it was the best decision of my life."

They looked at one another before leaning toward one another and kissed, which started out like little pecks, then as it grew, they moved from the end of the bed to them laying down with him above her. But before they took things further, he pulled back and looked into her eyes to see the approval, and once he got it while she took his hand and slipped her fingers through his, he leaned back down and their kisses became even more passionate, thinking about that they could have lost one another today, so they made the rest of night about them and their love.

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AN: Hope you enjoyed it. Two for sure, but possible Three chapters left. Please Review.


	14. Picking up the pieces

AN: Thank you for the reviews, here is the next chapter.

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Chapter 14: Picking up the pieces

Desert Palms Hospital

A little after Midnight

Doctor Rhodes and Nurse Manning were talking about a patient as they were walking past the reception desk when the receptionist cleared her throat and spoke toward them. "Nurse Manning, Dr. Rhodes."

When they turned their attention toward her, she handed them each a letter sized envelope. "These were put on my desk with your name on them."

They both looked at the envelops with curiosity as they took them from the receptionist, then they looked at one another before turning their attention back toward the envelops, and after opening them, Nurse Manning pulled two all expenses paid tickets for a day at the spa. And Dr. Rhodes had received two tickets to a hockey game, which was his favorite sport.

They smiled at their gifts before looking at the receptionist, and Dr. Rhodes spoke. "Any idea on who sent them?"

"No sir, should I try and find out?"

Dr. and Nurse looked at one another, and the nurse smiled while shrugging her shoulders. "Should we sir?"

There was a pause before he shook his head and smiled. "They obviously wanted to be anonymous, why not leave it at that?"

Nurse Manning nodded with a smile, then after a thank you, they started to walk off, and after a few seconds, she looked over at the doctor and asked. "You have any idea?"

Dr. Rhodes smiled with a short nod after really thinking about it. "I have one."

Then without another word, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, went to his contacts, pulled up Sara's phone number and text her. 'Thank you.' before hitting send.

* * *

Grissom Residence

After Bailey had taken a shower to wash the day off of her, she changed into comfortable clothes that she had in a go bag that she had kept in her locker at the lab. Then after checking the kids in her brother's room, she and Sam headed to her parents home office and walked to the couch so they could pull the bed out from it, then once the blankets and pillows were in place, which they got from the office closet, they crawled in bed, and after a little talking, they kissed each other softly, whispered their love yous and goodnights before they fell asleep with his arms around her from behind.

Unfortunately she didn't sleep very long because everything she went through with Tom, which she tried to forget and put out of her mind from the moment she was reunited with Sam, came back to her mind with a vengeance and it only made it into a worse nightmare, where the events and outcome went very differently than what happened.

She gasped as she opened her eyes quickly, then she turned her head to see Sam still sound asleep as he moved, making his arm slide off her a little, so she slowly moved it the rest of the way and sat up carefully before removing the blankets off of her and swinging her legs to the side of the bed before standing up, then after watching him for a few seconds, she walked toward the door, opened it and walked out to the living room, grabbing the throw blanket from the couch and wrapping it over her shoulders before heading toward the kitchen so she could get something to drink.

After grabbing a water bottle from the fridge and taking a few drinks to calm herself, she stood in front of the kitchen island so her back was towards the kitchen door while she had her eyes closed.

She felt she was alone in the room for a few minutes, but then that feeling she got whenever she knew Sam was near came to her before his voice was heard. "How bad was it?"

Bailey's nightmares weren't as frequent as her mothers, but she's been through enough of them for him to know what keeps her up sometimes.

Bailey tried to hold everything in, but she couldn't, especially when he was speaking in that soft, loving tone, so she sniffled with her eyes still closed. "Pretty bad. Different outcome and events happened. Not to mention I can't get something out of my head."

He walked up to her, wearing a t-shirt and boxers, with a frown. "The kidnapping?"

Bailey shook her head and whispered. "Surprisingly, No."

He stopped behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "The bomb?"

All those things did make her day pretty bad, but there was something else that made it even worse for her.

She shook her head again as she turned to him, but had her head down so she was now looking at the kitchen floor, so he put his finger on her chin and lifted her head up, then when her eyes finally met his, which all she saw was love, compassion and understanding in them, she started to tear up again as he cupped her cheek while saying one more thing. "You killing him."

She sniffled with a nod. "Regardless on who it was or how I ended up in that house, I'm responsible for killing someone, how can you still look at me like that? How can you still love me?"

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead before whispering against her skin, making her close her eyes. "Tell me something." He pulled back just as she reopened them. "In your heart, do you think you'd be here right now if that gun hadn't gone off and the bullet ended up hitting him?"

There was no hesitation in her answer. "No, honestly, I don't. He would have been glad to take me with him."

Sam then gave her a little smile as he ran his thumb up and down her cheek. "Then that's why. You weren't the monster in this, he was. You were defending yourself. Besides, from what I hear the gun could have easily gone off while it was pointing in your direction." Bailey nodded as he continued with tears in his eyes. "And because it happened the way it did, I get to spend another day with you, the kids get to have their mother with them another day, and every morning I wake up and you're lying next to me will be another day I'll be thankful for. I'm sorry that you're struggling with what happened, and if you need to talk to somebody then I'll understanding and be behind you, but remember it was all in self-defense, you did nothing wrong, ok?"

Bailey nodded with a small smile and tears in her eyes. "Ok. I just don't want you think of me as weak if I need to talk to someone."

Sam shook his head with a smile and a small chuckle. "Babe, I can say a lot of things about you, but you being weak will never come out of my mouth, especially after what you just went through." Then he his tone gets more serious as he finished wiping her tears away. "I just want you get through this, and I'll be there any way that you want me to, even if it's just listening to you talk about it.  
And remember there is nothing that you can say to me that will make me change how I feel about you, because I know the type of woman you are."

She smiled a little before bringing him in her arms for a hug, and after a sniffle she whispered. "After the gun went off like it did, for a split second I felt unsatisfied, like he should have died a different way."

He pulled her back, and with the same compassion and loving look as before, he replied. "I don't blame you, because when I found out he took you, I wanted to find him and kill himself. I don't think I ever felt that angry before." He took a breath before continuing. "I was so upset that it kind of got heated..."

She cuts him off with a nod. "Between you and Jason." He looked a little shocked as she nodded. "Mom told me what you two argued about."

"And after he said it, for a split second I felt he was right. That's why I got even more upset. I kept thinking that maybe if he was the one with you, you wouldn't have even left the apartment."

Bailey shook her head and cupped his cheek this time while running her thumb up and down it. "It isn't true, I would have left anyways, because..."

He cuts her off while nodding his head. "Keeping your family safe was what mattered."

Then she smiled a little while finishing with love in her eyes. "And besides, I want you and only you, you know that, right?"

He smiled bigger with his eyes sparking before bringing her in his arms. "Which makes me the luckiest man on earth because I get to be married to this amazing, beautiful, smart, brave woman for the rest of my life."

She sighed in content as she sniffled one more time. "And I feel I'm the luckiest woman on earth to have you in my corner."

He held her for a few minutes in silence before she started to yawn, so he pulled back and cupped her cheek again with a smile. "You want to try to get some sleep?"

Bailey nodded. "I'll try."

He nodded as he stepped back so it could give her a little room so she could turn around and grab her water bottle, and after she did, they started walking out of the kitchen, turning the light out in the process, then walked in the living room, where she tossed the throw blanket back on the couch before they ended up back in the office.

As they were getting under the covers again, she cleared her throat and looked over at him. "And thank you."

He turned on his side and placed his head on the palm of his hand while his elbow was on the mattress as he asked. "For what?"

"For understanding why I didn't want to go home tonight."

"Hey, if it bothers you too much to go back there after what happened in there, we can just pack our things and find a new place."

She shook her head with a little snicker. "We can't do that."

Then he replied with a serious tone. "Why not? My sister is out of town for another week, we can crash there for a bit, and you heard your father, we can even stay here. At least I would agree for a couple of days, I'm sure your siblings would like their rooms back at some point, knowing your mother will have them switch rooms if we stay long so it would be fair."

After they had that family gathering days ago, his sister took her kids and went with her man to his parents house, who lived in Washington, for a week. And Sam was going to tell his sister on what happened but he didn't want to worry her and make her leave her trip early, so they decided that they'll tell her what happened when she comes back home.

She smiled a little bigger with a raised eyebrow. "You would really do that for me?"

He smiled with love in his eyes and cupped her cheek with his free hand. "Babe, don't you know by now I would move mountains for you if I could."

After a pause, which she yawned in that moment, she replied once it was over. "Can we talk about new living arrangements tomorrow?"

"Absolutely."

They leaned toward each other and kissed softly on the lips before pulling back and putting their foreheads together.

"Love you, Sam."

"Love you too, Bay."

Once they pulled back, she turned her body so her back was toward him, then he moved forward so her back was now touching his shirt covered chest, and after wrapping his arms around her from behind, she sighed in content and placed her hands on top of his while he kissed the back of her head and whispered. "Now if those nasty nightmares come back, just think of me and I'll be there to protect you."

She smiled while her eyes were closed. "Thank you for fighting for me."

"You're still worth it."

After one more kiss on the back of her head, he yawned. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Goodnight, babe."

It didn't take Sam very long to fall back asleep, and when she finally did, those nightmares came back, but this time she had Sam there protecting her, just like he said he would, and just like she knew he would going forward with their lives, which she knew it wasn't going to be easy, but when has her life ever been that. She just knew that if she had her family behind her she could once again over come another rough patch life had thrown her way.

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AN: Find out what happens next. 2 Chapters left. Please Review.


	15. Celebrations & Revelations

AN: Thanks for the reviews, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!

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Chapter 15: Celebrations & Revelations

A little over two months later

September 19, 2020

Los Angeles, Califonria

Before they knew it, summer vacation had ended and the kids were back in school, and now to celebrate Sara's birthday, and the Grissom's 15th wedding anniversary that was coming up in the middle of next week, Grissom offered to take the family any place Sara wanted to go for the weekend, which she choose San Diego.

It also gave Bailey a chance, since she, Sam and the kids joined in, to take her daughter to visit a few people she still kept close to her heart.

After leaving the Stoke's residence early that morning, Bailey drove her little family up to Los Angeles, then when they finally got to the cemetery, she parked the vehicle before her and Sam got out, and while Sam was getting Sam Jr. out of his car seat, Bailey got the stroller out, Sarah, and the four roses she bought before the family headed toward the correct place after shutting and locking the vehicle up.

As they were getting close, Sarah asked from her stroller. "Why are we here mommy?"

Bailey took a breath before speaking. "I'll tell you in just a second, baby."

"Ok."

They stopped when they got there, and after Bailey had placed two of the roses on her aunt and uncle's gave, she kneeled down in front of her daughter, unbuckled her seat belt and picked her up before grabbing the last two roses from the top of the stroller canopy and kneeling down again, this time in front of her adoptive parents grave and started to speak to her daughter as she placed one rose on her mother's grave then on her father's.

"We are here sweetie because it's time to start telling you something I think is a very important part of my past." She took a moment before speaking again. "A long time ago I lived with this amazing family, and they loved me and I loved them, so much in fact that you could call them grandma and grandpa."

Sarah gasped as she turned her head to look at her mother in shock. "Really? Two more?"

Bailey nodded with a smile. "Yep."

"Then I would get more kisses, hugs." Then she smiled bigger. "And presents."

Bailey chuckled again as Sam joined in, then as she nodded, she cupped her daughter's cheek. "You bet, you would've been even more spoiled than you already are."

Her smile remained on her face for a few more seconds before it dimmed down as she asked. "You miss them?"

"Yes, but as long as they're in my heart I'll never forget and they'll always be with me. And the more times I tell you about them, they'll be in your heart too, would you like that?"

Sarah nodded. "I would, mommy. Can you tell me more?"

Bailey looked up at her husband, who smiled with a nod, telling her it's ok they stay for a little bit longer, making her smile as she looked down at her daughter again before sitting down and bringing her in her lap with a nod. "I can tell you a few stories now. But first, I would like to introduce you to them." She then cleared her throat as she continued. "Mom, dad, I would like you to meet Sarah, she's my sweet, amazing, beautiful little girl."

After one more pause, Bailey introduced Sarah to her parents before jumping into a story, happy she could start telling her daughter about this wonderful family that she got to be apart of.

* * *

San Diego, California

While Bailey and her family were doing their thing in Los Angeles, Sara and Grissom were hanging out in San Diego at the Stokes residence, and as they were talking and laughing while sitting at the outside table on their deck, Arthur opened the sliding glass door and smiled at the parents. "Mom, dad is it ok if we go to the park for a bit?"

Sara and Grissom looked at one another before Sara looked at her oldest son, nodding. "It's ok with us."

Arthur thanked them before looking at Nick and Catherine, asking for Emmett, which they also nodded with a smiles before Nick spoke. "Yeah, go ahead, have fun."

"Thanks, see you later."

They replied to the sentiment before Arthur walked back inside the house and closed the door, then after a short pause, Nick cleared his throat before speaking toward Sara. "So, you are really doing it?"

Sara took a drink of her water with a nod, and after setting the bottle back down on the table, she replied. "It's time."

After much consideration, Sara finally made the decision on calling it a career as a CSI, and she'll officially walk away in two weeks. There were a few people who were sad when she had made the announcement, but just like her husband, they respected her decision.

He smiled with an understanding nod. "You know the CSI world won't be the same without you."

Sara chuckled with a nod. "I bet, and I won't deny that I won't miss it. Well, there are certain parts I really won't miss." They chuckled with nods as she continued with a more serious tone. "But overall I will miss it, I'm just ready to try something else, I've felt I done all that I could."

Catherine raised her water bottle toward Sara as she spoke with a smile. "And a wonderful job you've done, it was a pleasure working with you..."

Sara cuts her off with a smirk. "Which I'm sure not all the time was a pleasure with me."

They all chuckled, thinking of the frostiness between one another at times, as Catherine nodded. "Ok, you're right, we did have our moments, but I think overall we had more good than bad." Sara nodded in agreement as Catherine finished. "And I'm behind you on your choice."

Sara smiled as she clinked her water bottle with Catherine's as she nodded. "Thanks Cath." Catherine nodded back before she took a drink of her water, then after Sara took another drink, she asked. "So, either of you ready to call it a career?"

Catherine was the first to shake her head. "No way, I'm in it for as long as I can physically do it. I may be closer to calling it quiets then when I first started, but I'm all in."

She'll admit there were times where she did want to call it quits, but every time she solved a case and got to put a criminal behind bars that adrenaline rush starts all over again, and she's ready for another one.

Nick speaks toward Catherine after she was done while taking her hand in his. "Still beautiful doing it, babe."

Catherine looked at her husband with love in her eyes, then their moment was interrupted when Sara spoke again, this time towards Nick. "What about you Nicky?"

Nick shook his head as he looked towards Sara now. "I'm with my wife, I'm all in for as long as I can."

Sara then smirked. "I just think you still want people to see you as the 'Man' carrying the heat."

Nick smirked back. "Haven't you heard Sara, I am."

After another round of chuckling while Sara shook her head and rolled her eyes, she took a breath and sighed. "Man, I've really missed this, miss you guys."

Nick takes a drink of his water before replying with a smile. "Well, now that you have a little more free time on your hands, you can start planning a few more trips a year on your schedule. Hint, hint."

Sara and Grissom looked at one another, communicating with their eyes before Sara looked at Nick again with a nod. "I think we just might do that."

Their eyes sparkled as Nick spoke again. "Awesome, it would be nice seeing you a little more."

Grissom nodded with a smile as he slipped his fingers through Sara's. "Likewise."

There was one more short pause before they continued on their good-nature teasing and laughing, just enjoying one another's company for as long as they could.

* * *

At the park

When they arrived at the park, the foursome tossed a football around that Nick had given his son for a Christmas present one year in hopes he'll take to the sport one day, even though in the end it didn't matter to Nick if he did, he'll love him no matter what, but he thought it would be nice to share something in common with his son. And it turns out it wasn't going to be sports they had in common, it was putting together model cars and airplanes, and he was starting to take an interest in mechanics, very much to the delight of Catherine because she didn't think she could watch her baby boy getting injured on the football field.

After about half an hour tossing the ball around, which their skills showed how little any of them actually play, even though they were having fun and that's what it was all about, Arthur asked for a break before he walked to the tree they had their things under, then a few minutes later Megan did too and walked over to her twin brother.

Once she was near him, she kneeled down and grabbed her water bottle while watching him type on his phone, then after she placed the cap back on, she took a breath and spoke. "Ok, it's confession time."

Arthur looked up from his phone to look at his sister with confusion. "What do you mean? What do I need to confess?"

With his grip on his phone now loose, Megan swiped it form his hand, making him shout. "Hey!"

As he tried to get it back she turned her body and tapped his hand away while typing a name in his text message screen before turning toward him again and holding up his phone before asking with a raised eyebrow. "Why you have multiple text messages from Alexis, who correct me if I'm wrong, is my best friend?"

He swallowed before trying to speak. "Well, you see I...uh..well..." He stopped, knowing he couldn't lie to her, and took a breath before finally confessing. "Ok, we've been seeing one another for about two weeks now. How did you know?"

"Two days ago during mom's birthday party when you were taking a little longer for the snacks than necessary, I went to the kitchen and saw you and her holding hands with a smile on your face with a dopey look."

He shook his head with a smile. "It wasn't a dopey look."

"Oh, it was very dopey." Before he could speak, she handed him his phone and continued softly. "She's my best friend, Arthur, and you're my brother. If things turn bad, I'll be stuck in the middle, and I can't takes sides, so don't make me."

"I know, that's why we didn't want to tell you right away, we wanted to make sure it was real before..."

She cuts him off as she held up her hand. "Wait a minute, are you saying you could be in love with her?"

He looked at her with wide-eyes. "Love? Wow, I don't know. I mean I do get these butterflies in my stomach whenever she's near and I can't stop thinking about her." Then he smirked. "I'm starting to ramble when I talk to her, and if my hair was longer I might be tucking it behind my ear."

Megan chuckled while she pushed his shoulder. "Now you're just making fun of me." Once she stopped laughing she continued. "Tell me the truth."

He chuckled for a second before nodding again. "The butterfly thing and her on my mind is real, I'm not joking about that, and yes it could be, but I mean we are just 13 years old, feelings can change and I can't guarantee you that they won't." He then leaned forward and placed his hand over her sister's. "And I understand that this is a delicate situation, but before we crossed that line we promised each other that we would be completely honest with one another about how we feel because we knew what it would do to you if things got ugly, and I would never want to hurt you, or her, and you have to know that she would never want..."

She cuts him off with a nod. "To hurt me, I know."

He raised an eyebrow this time. "You know, know, as in you've talked to her about this?" When she nodded, he leaned his back so it was touching the tree again. "She didn't tell me that."

"Because I told her not to, I was going to wait to bring this up with you two after the trip, but I couldn't."

He smiled with a nod before he looked down at his hands. "So, what did she tell you, did she say she loved me?"

Megan chuckled as she finally sat down and crossed her legs. "Oh no, we aren't going to start that, I'm not going to be your guy's messenger."

He looked at her sister with a pleading look, a look their father would give to their mother when he really wanted something, which more often times than not it would work, and Megan chuckled before replying. "Fine, but just this once." Then continued after clearing her throat. "She told me the same thing you did, she gets butterflies and she thinks about you a lot too."

That made him happy, so he smiled bigger with a nod. "Cool." Megan just nodded back as she looked toward her youngest brother and Emmitt tossing the football, and as he looked at his sister, he asked. "Are you ok with this?"

She looked at her twin before replying with honesty. "I'll admit it's a little weird to think of you two as an item now, I mean just a few months ago you two were picking on each other, something I've been witnessing ever since we were five."

"I know what you mean, and it was a little weird to me at first, but my feelings toward her just started changing and I began to see her in a different light. I guess that just means we are growing up."

She nodded with a sigh. "It sure does. Now you know what's next."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when are you going to tell mom and dad?" He looked at her wide-eyed at that thought while she finished. "Because you know they'll eventually find out, and I think they'll appreciate it more if you are upfront with them."

There was a pause before he answered. "I guess you're right, how do you think they'll react?"

Megan stood up while shaking her head. "I'm not sure, I guess you'll have to wait and see." As Arthur stood up, she continued. "I do know you have one thing going for you."

"Which is?"

"They already know her and like her."

He chuckled again. "Yeah, that's a very good thing."

"Yep." After pause she finished. "Come on, I'll race you."

Then she took off running back towards her youngest brother and Emmett, then after a sigh in content, actually happy he didn't have to hide that from his sister anymore, he took off running after her, hoping that when it's revealed to his parents they wouldn't be too upset with it.

* * *

Later that Night

Grissom spoke to Sara, who was sitting on the bed slipping on her dress shoes that went with her dark pant suit, as he walked into the guest room they were staying in.

"Bailey called and said they were going to stay in LA for the night."

"Ok."

Her 'ok' sounded like she was a little distracted, so he walked up to her and sat down next to her on the bed and asked. "You ok? We can tell Nick and Catherine to cancel tonight if you want."

Nick and Catherine was taking the family out so they could do a little celebrating.

Sara shook her head with a smile. "No, it's ok, I'm fine." He raised an eyebrow at her famous word, making her chuckle. "Really, I am. We can still go out tonight."

He paused before asking. "It's the lab, isn't it?"

She smirked. "Have I ever told you, you might know me a little too well."

He frowned a little. "Sara..."

She cuts him off before he could finish. "It is. Believe me though, my decision is 100% final, I'm done. But I guess talking about it today and remembering all the good, and the not so good, that happened there, makes me a little sadder than I had anticipated."

Grissom nodded in understanding as he cupped her cheek and ran his thumb up and down it. "That's almost 20 years worth of memories there, making your feelings about it understandable, and to tell you the truth, I still get a little twinge thinking about it every once in awhile."

"Really?" After he nodded again, she took a breath before continuing. "I guess a part of me will feel that too, so what do you suggest on helping with that feeling?"

"Find something else you're passionate about." Then he smirked a little with his eyes sparkling. "You know, besides being a mother and my wife."

She chuckled, while she once again thought 'He knows me so well', then she cleared her throat and nodded. "I see what you're saying."

He smiled with another nod, then after kissing her on the forehead, he stands up and walks to the closet to get his suit jacket that went with his black slacks and blue shirt, and after putting it on, he grabs his wallet from his pocket, pulled out a piece of notebook paper he had something written on and spoke again as he walked up to her, which she was now standing by the dresser so she could put on one of her necklaces.

"And if you still have your heart set on forensics, you should check this out."

She turned to him, grabbed the piece of paper he was holding out to her, and looked down at it. "A forensic teacher at UNLV?" Then looked at him. "How long have you had this idea?"

"When you told me you were thinking about saying goodbye to the lab, I checked around the departments to see what might interest you. I just didn't say anything because I wanted to wait for you to really see if you're done with being a CSI, so you wouldn't feel the added pressure on deciding another job right away."

She paused before asking. "A teacher though, you can actually see me as that?"

He chuckled a little. "What do you think you were doing with Blake, Lindsey, our daughter, and especially Greg, along with countless others in the lab?" He shrugged a little. "I know in a classroom it will have a different feel to it and it won't be the same, but yes, I could see you as a teacher, a great one at that."

This pause lasted longer than he thought was necessary, making him think he had done something wrong, so he cleared his throat and started to speak again. "If the idea is too completely out there for you, I understand, I just thought..."

But he gets cut off when she leaned toward him and kissed him, which got a little bit more passionate than planned, but neither one seemed to mind as they were slowly pulling back, and after their breaths were back, he cleared his throat and smirked. "Well, if that was a bad idea and I get rewarded like that, I guess I should have more of those."

She chuckled and shook her head, then pulled back and looked him in the eyes with love and admiration in hers. "No, that was a thank you for thinking of me and my future, I really appreciate what you did. But can I have a little more time to think about it?"

"Of course. I'm not trying to pressure you now, and besides with school just starting, you might have to wait to see how the school year goes for the teacher that's already there anyways."

She nodded in understanding before asking. "Why me though? Have you had any thoughts about doing it?"

He smiled with a smirk. "Don't you know outside of you you and the kids, my passion has always been with entomology?"

She chuckled with a nod. "What was I thinking, of course that's true." She cleared her throat before asking. "So, what's wrong with the teacher that's already there?"

"To tell you truth I sat in one of his classes and I just got the feeling he didn't have much hands on experience, it felt too textbook, if you know what I mean." As she nodded, he finished with. "And with it being one of the lowest attendance classes, the program is on the verge of getting shut down, and I think it would be a shame to lose it."

Sara nodded in agreement since she knew where he was coming from, as the job suggestion rolled around in her head, even though she told him she needed more time to really think about it.

On one hand, working in the same place as her husband was a major selling point, she could definitely get on board with that part, and him having so much faith in her, which wasn't the first time she had felt that way, was also something she loved...

Before her thoughts could continue, he spoke with another smirk. "You're really thinking about it now when you said you wanted to wait, aren't you?"

She looked into his eyes with a smile. "And there you go again, proving to me just how much you know me."

His eyes soften as he cupped her cheek again. "15 years is quite awhile to be with someone, honey."

"Sometimes it doesn't feel long enough."

He slid his thumb under her eye to wipe a stray tear away as he continued. "So, does that mean I don't have to convince you to stick around for another 15?"

She smirked, but her eyes showed him she was serious. "It's a start, but I'm kind of expecting more, if you don't mind."

He smirked back but his eyes were just as serious as hers. "I'll try my best to give you that."

Their emotional moment was interrupted when there was a clearing of a throat before Arthur's voice was heard, which was a smirk. "So, you guys ready or are you planning on celebrating here alone?"

They smiled and cleared their throats before Sara looked toward the doorway, where her oldest son stood wearing his nice clothes, almost looking like a spitting image of his father. "We're coming, sweetie."

Arthur nodded with a smile before turning and walking away, and once he was, she turned her attention the dresser to grab her purse, then slipped her fingers through his as she started to speak while they were walking toward the bedroom door. "I'll really think about it."

He squeezed her hand softly with a smile and nod, knowing she was talking about the job suggestion. "Alright."

Just like how Sara felt about working in the same place again, Grissom loved the idea too, but he'll respect her decision on going through the process of thinking about it. Plus, like he said they needed to wait to see what happens with the other teacher.

After making it downstairs, where everybody was waiting with smiles, Grissom and Nick helped their wives put on their jackets, then the families walked out of the house, ready to have a good night, which things got started a little early when there was some good-nature teasing between Nick and Sara, and not for the first time this visit, it felt like old times.

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AN: Hope you liked it. Next chapter will be the last for the story, but there could be another story to the series, interested? Please review.


	16. Her last day

AN: Thanks for the reviews, here is the last chapter. Enjoy!

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Chapter 16: Her last day

2 weeks later

October 2,2020

After dismissing the team for the last time, which was five minutes before shift actually ended, she headed back to the office so she could pack up the last of her stuff.

She took a breath as she grabbed the last item from the desk, which was the name plate that Greg and Nick had given her when she came back to the lab after her hiatus, and as she was looking at it fondly, she heard Greg's voice after he had cleared his throat. "So, this is really happening."

Sara looked up from the name plate, and smiled at him as she placed it in her box. "You know it would be." She then cleared her throat as she finished with a smirk. "Besides, there wouldn't have been any point to the party you set up yesterday."

When she made the announcement she was leaving, she told the team she didn't want a party, but of course they, particularly Greg, didn't listen, and instead of doing it the last day, he decided to switch things up and do it the day before.

He smiled. "True." Then he started to ramble a little, which only meant one thing. "But I guess a part of me was kind of hoping for you to say April fools, even though I know it's nowhere near..."

Which Sara stopped him, knowing it because he was scared more than flattering her, even though she also knew he would miss working with her, as she picked up her box from the desk. "Greg, you are ready for this."

He took a breath as he placed his hands in his pocket while asking. "You really think so?"

She sets her box on one of the chairs that was in front of the desk, walked up to him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder with a nod. "I really do. I also think you've been ready years ago." Then she smirked a little. "You just had the misfortune of Nick and I being in front of you."

Greg chuckled for a second then he shook his head and said with honesty. "I don't look at that as a misfortune, I was very fortunate and honored to have you guys, even Warrick, Catherine and Grissom behind my back and giving me the support, because without it, especially from you, I think I would still be a lab rat. "Then they both started to get teary eyed as he finished. "So, thank you for everything that you've done for me and giving me the confidence that I can continue to do this job at a high level, I won't let you down."

Sara shook her head before bringing him her arms for a hug. "I know you won't."

He hugged her back, and after a few seconds, they pulled back and she cleared her throat before pulling the office key out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Here you go, it's all yours now."

He took it from her with a nod before she turned to the chair so she could get her box, and after picking it up, she turned to him again while he was looking down the key in his hands, thinking of all the hands this key was passed down to and the big shoe's he'll have to fill.

"Dinner next Friday with the family, don't forget."

Greg looked up from the key and nodded with a smile, then after Sara looked around the room one more time, she headed for the door, but stopped the second she got to the doorway, and turned to him one more time. "And Greg?" When Greg turned to look at her again, she continued. "Don't waste any more time, tell her how you feel."

He cleared his throat and shook his head. "I don't know what you are talking about."

She smirked back. "I think you do, and it's time to be happy and share your life with the one you love. Besides, you aren't her boss, or even on the same team, so what's stopping you now? Life can be so short sometimes, remember that."

Greg gave her a short nod with a small smile, and after a nod back, Sara finally walked out of the office and down the hallway, smiling softly and doing head nods at some of the lab rats who was waving and giving her smiles through the glass walls.

Just as she was walking past the break room, she hears. "Aunt Sara."

She turned around, and saw Lindsey in the doorway with Blake. "Hi, Lindsey. Blake."

With them on different shifts now, they try to at least have breakfast together, and sometimes they'll have it in the break room.

Lindsey smiled as she took few steps toward her. "I uh, I just wanted to say thank you for giving me a shot and teaching me."

Sara smiled with a nod. "No problem, and I never said this to you before, but I see a lot of your mom in you, and I mean that in the best way."

Lindsey smiled bigger at the compliment. "Really?"

"Absolutely."

"Cool."

She then gives Sara a hug before walking back in the break room.

Sara and Blake chuckled a little before looking at one another, then he cleared his throat and spoke. "I would like to thank you too, Mrs. Grissom. I have faith in Greg's leadership, but I'm really going to miss you." He paused before finishing. "Well, you know in the lab, because it isn't like I'll never see you again."

Sara chuckled with a nod. "True, and you're welcome, it was my pleasure." Blake nodded and he was going to turn to walk back in the room but Sara continued. "And Blake?" Blake turned around to look at her as she finished. "Look after him, ok?"

Blake nodded with a smile. "You got it."

After one more smile between them, Sara turned and started walking down the hall again while Blake walked back into the break room.

When she got to the door of the locker room she looked in and saw that Warrick and her daughter was in there, so she cleared her throat to get their attention, and once she did, Bailey closed her locker and walked up to her mother with a smile, even though it did look a little dimmer than usual because she knew this was the last time she'll see her here, outside of visits of course, and gave her a hug, which Sara had given her a one armed hug back. "Thank you mom for everything, I learned so much from you." And she wasn't just talking about being a CSI.

Sara nodded as they pulled back from the hug, then smiled at her and cupped her cheek. "Just continue to be the best you can be, and I don't doubt you'll be a supervisor one day."

Bailey's eyes sparkled as she nodded. "That's what I'm hoping for." Then she smirked as she looked back at Warrick. "Uncle Warrick better watch out, I might take his job a lot quicker than he had planned."

They chuckled before Warrick gave her a teasing grin as he smirked back. "Yeah, we'll see about that one." Bailey then pursed her lips, a trait she got from her mother, before smiling again with a nod, then after one more hug to her mother, she walked out of the room, leaving Warrick and Sara alone.

A few seconds later, he asked. "Is she out of ear shot?" Sara looked to the side to see her daughter turning down the hall before she looked at Warrick and nodded, so he spoke again. "You know she's probably right." She chuckled as he continued. "Greg told me about her skills as a CSI, and man he was right. It's like working with a mini you and Grissom in one. She's like a sponge soaking up information and her attention to detail is just..."

He trails off too amazed to finish as Sara smirked a little, but also proud to hear the praise toward her daughter. "So, what you are saying is night shift's loss is your gain?"

He cringed a little. "I'm sorry it happened like it did, but is it wrong for me to say yeah?"

Sara shook her head. "I don't blame you, and from what I hear everybody still seems fine with the change. Besides, I have faith in Greg's team."

She actually knew for a fact that her daughter liked it a little more because now she could spend time with her family at night and actually go to sleep at the same time as her husband. She really only liked working the night shift because she was working with her mother, but once Sara had made the announcement that she was leaving, Bailey felt a little better about moving shifts, even though she knew she'll miss working with Uncle Greg and Blake.

Warrick nodded, then after a pause, he closed his locker and walked up to her as he cleared his throat. "So, this is it?" After Sara's nod, he stopped in front of her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "The lab won't be the same without you, it was nice seeing you in-between shifts."

Sometimes when she wasn't in a hurry to leave after her shift, or had to stay a little bit later to work on paperwork, her and Warrick, as long as he didn't have to start his shift early, would sometimes talk in the break room until it was time for him to start shift.

Sara nodded, trying to keep her emotions together before wrapping her arm around his waist and steeping in his arms while she spoke. "It really was, and I'll miss those times too." After they pull back, she takes a breath and asked. "And can you do me a favor?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"I know she's old enough to take care of herself and has a family of her own and all, but she's still my baby..."

Warrick cuts her off with a smile and an understanding nod. "Don't worry, Sara. I'll protect her like she's my own, you have my word."

"Thank you." After one more nod, she continued. "I should let you go, but don't forget dinner this Friday, we're expecting to see you."

He answered with the smile still on his face. "I wouldn't miss it."

"Alright." Then she smirked. "Now, go catch some bad guys."

He chuckled as he gave her one more hug. "You got it, boss."

They pull back, and after one more smile toward one another, he pats her on the shoulder and walks out of the room, leaving Sara alone.

She looked around the room with a sigh before turning and walking toward the exit of the building, saying goodbye to the receptionist before walking out the Lab.

She stopped when her feet hit the sidewalk so she could put on her sunglasses that she had in her box, then she looked to the right and smiled when she sees her husband, who was also wearing sunglasses, standing in front of the SUV with his backside leaning against the front of it with his arms crossed over his chest.

A second later she spoke while she headed toward him. "What are you doing here? You're going to be late for your first class."

"I had Sam drop me off. I decided to take the morning off."

She stopped in front of him as she asked. "Why?"

He moved so he was standing straight and cupped her cheek. "I had something more important to do. It was my wife's last day at a job she spent most of her life doing, so I thought she would need a little support."

She finally let out a sniffle, and if she had her sunglasses off, he would have seen tears in her eyes as she softly replied. "Thank you."

He takes her box out of her hands and puts it on the hood of the vehicle before bringing her in his arms and kissed her temple while whispering. "No problem, honey."

A few minutes they pull back before she looks at the lab while his hand was running up and down her back for comfort.

When she looked at him again, he asked. "You ready, sweetheart?"

She nodded with a smile. "Yeah."

Before he turned toward the hood to grab her box, she stopped him and cupped his cheek before whispering again. "I love you."

If she could see, she would see his eyes sparkling as he whispered back. "I love you too."

They share a soft kiss before he finally grabbed the box, then he headed toward the passenger side while she got to the driver's side, and after getting in and buckled up, she turned the key in the ignition to start it before looking over at him. "Where to now?"

He places his hand over hers and smiled. "I would say anywhere you want to, just as long as it involves you and me."

She smiled back with a nod. "I would agree to that." She then cleared her throat and said. "Alright, here we go."

After one more look at the lab, she pulled the vehicle out of the parking spot before driving to the end of the parking lot, then she pulled out onto the street, not really having a destination in mind for a few hours, just glad to have the man she loved by her side from this moment on, no matter what was next for them.

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AN: That's it. I hope you overall you liked it. Please Review.

One more story to the Series will be up soon, to those who are interested, so be on the lookout for that. Until then enjoy the rest of your week and weekend.

Take care, and remember, GSR4ever!


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